How manufacturers are approaching workforce development

The labor market in the U.S. clean energy sector is booming. 

The sector added nearly 300,000 jobs between 2021 and 2022, growing to include more than 8.1 million workers, according to a Department of Energy report from June 2023.

Even as the manufacturing industry as a whole is projected to lose more than 113,000 jobs between 2022 and 2032, positions in clean energy-related sectors are expected to increase, according to October 2023 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Solar electric power generation-related jobs, for example, are expected to grow by more than 60%, and wind turbine service technician jobs are projected to grow by 45%.  

In 2023, many manufacturers were struggling to fill entry-level roles, especially when trying to compete with big companies like Amazon and FedEx. However, that’s no longer the top challenge some manufacturers are talking about.

One of the major challenges among companies now is finding qualified labor for technical roles dealing with AI and automation when it comes to producing semiconductors, electric vehicles and batteries.

These manufacturers are struggling to find enough automation engineers, machinists, welders and even installation workers, said Justin Geach, global director of marketing at Ohio-based metalworks company Master Fluid Solutions. Geach highlighted solar panel installation specialists as one job function that's experiencing unprecedented demand as more companies and individuals make the switch to solar energy. 

“A lot of people are going from your natural gas-powered home backup generators to solar power,” Geach said. “The whole value chain of solar has experienced a labor shortage."

Part of the manufacturing labor shortage also has to do with what Randy Wolken, president and CEO of The Manufacturers Association of Central New York, calls the “silver tsunami,” as experienced workers retire and not as many young workers replace them. 

Wolken said this is due to a perception gap in which younger students don't have an accurate understanding of modern manufacturing.

"Many of these manufacturing facilities, people don't get a chance to go inside and see them and how they operate, how automated they are," Wolken said. "You drive by these nondescript buildings, and they don't really understand the technology being used and the fact that most of these jobs are really technicians or data-driven."

New York has attracted a huge amount of investment in semiconductor manufacturing over the past few years. Micron Technology, for example, announced in October 2022 that it will invest up to $100 billion over the next 20-plus years to construct the largest semiconductor fabrication plant in the U.S.

Wolken hopes that investments like this will attract younger people looking for more data-driven jobs like electrical and mechanical engineers.

More training is needed to recruit manufacturing workers

To attract and train more young people for emerging technical roles in manufacturing, Wolken said schools need to take more initiative to teach AI and automation. He cited apprenticeships as a great way to start.

“These allow individuals to go through a scheduled approach for learning along with mentoring and on-the-job training," Wolken said. "The country actually has been focused on apprenticeships. We think that's going to be one of the most significant changes in the way in which companies both hire and upskill."

The federal government is taking note of the benefits of apprenticeships as well. The Biden administration's fiscal year 2024 budget proposal included $335 million for the registered apprenticeship program to build educational pathways in industries such as construction, clean energy and semiconductor manufacturing.

Partnering with high schools and colleges is also a tactic some manufacturing organizations use, such as the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. The organization aims to train both students and teachers.

“Part of the challenge for schools right now is you're not getting teachers rolling out of college that are really comfortable teaching really hands-on tech ed. It’s just not a training that they've had,” Julie Davis, VP of people strategy at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, said. 

To combat this, AEM collaborates with the Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education to teach an ag-science, STEM-based curriculum to those without a manufacturing background, like science and history teachers.

Geach also said younger generations appreciate having more of a higher purpose in their jobs.

“I feel like they want higher level, more engaging work. They want to leverage technology, where a lot of the older generation had the skill set to do things manually," Geach said. "But the new gen, Gen Z, kind of came up with technology, so they want to leverage it.” 

Randy Carr, president and CEO of custom-made textile company World Emblem, discussed how his medium-sized company invests in employee education as a retention tool. 

“I think a lot of it is because we over communicate with our staff. We spend a lot of time communicating about the vision, the values and principles of the business are, and we spend quite a bit of money educating,” he said.

Looking at the months ahead, manufacturers are not only focusing on what skills need to be taught more, but where the labor pool is and the types of roles for which people need additional training. New developments in the industry have opened up job options for more people, including a growing number of careers in the country that don't require a bachelor's degree. 

“A lot of what we talk about with manufacturers is this shift from, maybe you trained and developed your workers and maybe you didn’t,” Davis said. “But looking forward, we're all going to be needing to be ready to reskill, new-skill and upskill our workers because of the changes in technology that are happening.”

Nearly 128 million U.S. workers — about 70% of the entire US workforce — could stand to benefit from apprenticeships and on-the-job learning opportunities, opening up a key cohort of trained workers for employers, according to a Nov. 13, 2023 report by Multiverse and the Burning Glass Institute.

Apprenticeships still remain outside the mainstream in the U.S., the report said, but a U.S. workforce that would follow the U.K.’s “mature apprenticeship” system could host over 830,000 new apprenticeship opportunities per year, leading to $28.5 billion in wage increases.

The four cohorts of workers that could benefit from such a system include:

• 36 million high-churn, low-wage workers without bachelor's degrees.
• 10.6 million career starters without bachelor's degrees.
• 12.8 million underemployed college graduates.
• 68 million mid-career workers who are seeking a chance for better pay.

Examples of high-churn, low-wage jobs include truck drivers, retail salespeople, janitors, cooks and wait staff, the report noted. These jobs are also prone to automation. And while obtaining a degree can open up pathways to new job opportunities, many with degrees remain underemployed in jobs that are not using their skills well, the report said.

Those workers could be funneled into apprentice-ready jobs that are in high demand and cross myriad industries, including sales managers, computer network architects, software developers, medical and health services managers, construction managers, accountants, HR specialists and electricians, among others.

“We know that with Boomers retiring, more people sitting on the sidelines of the labor market, and big economic shifts in the wake of the pandemic — the workforce we have isn't always the workforce we need,” Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute, said in a statement. “Apprenticeships can be a powerful mechanism for unlocking worker potential and bridging the gap between workers yearning for opportunity and businesses starving for talent.”

Employers are already primed to move into these models, the report said. Multiverse and the Burning Glass Institute analyzed 332 million job postings made since 2014, and over the last five years, data indicated a 6.5-fold increase in the frequency of terms like “upskilling, reskilling, and on-the-job training” in job ads — showcasing that employers are curious about a learn-on-the-job model.

Notably, women and Black and Hispanic workers without degrees are disproportionately represented in high-churn, low-wage jobs — providing employers ample opportunity to expand the diversity of their workforces while also filling key roles, the report said.

The Biden-Harris administration has been working on building a workforce to support the manufacturing industry. In May 2023, the administration launched a new advanced manufacturing workforce initiative, which created workforce hubs and expand pre- and registered apprenticeships.

The U.S. registered apprenticeship system has been a target of bill making in recent years, with the intent to modernize the system for the current workforce. The most recent bill sought to encourage employers to create apprenticeships in manufacturing, cybersecurity, clean energy and other in-demand industries.

The manufacturing workforce shortage looks stark: The National Association of Manufacturers estimates that by 2030, the U.S. will need four million manufacturing jobs, with 2.1 million of those positions going unfilled if the country does not ramp up efforts to recruit new workers.

Fortunately, colleges and universities across the country are working to grow the next generation of the manufacturing workforce by launching new four-year programs and degrees that would create a direct pathway to the industry.

The effort is aided by recent federal legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act and its funding for workforce development initiatives, as well as by private investments in universities from industry leaders like Accenture. 

New higher education programs hope to address three overwhelming factors when it comes to the workforce shortage: a lack of access to education and skills, high-tech training and general interest in an industry that has long been perceived as low-paying and dangerous, said Brad Conrad, education and workforce development manager at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Perhaps the most dire issue to solve is a dearth of graduates trained in the STEM skills that characterize today’s manufacturing jobs.

“Going from the lab to industry is the valley of death,” Conrad said. “It’s exceptionally hard. These programs are helping industries to be able to do that.” 

Here are some of the manufacturing programs that are working to train a new generation of manufacturing professionals.

Old Dominion University

In 2022, Old Dominion University announced the launch of Virginia’s first ever four-year manufacturing program. Offered as part of the school’s Batten College of Engineering and Technology's Engineering and Technology Department, the degree is accessible both as a traditional four-year program as well as in conjunction with a two-year associate degree in manufacturing engineering technology. 

The program is also part of the Virginia Maritime Industrial Base Consortium's "Talent Pipeline Initiative” to grow the state’s talent base for defense and industrial base employers,

Vukica Jovanovic, professor and chair of ODU’s Engineering Technology Department, said the program addresses a long-standing abundance of positions in the local maritime and shipbuilding ecosystem that will make job placement easier. “We don’t chase recruiters,” said Jovanovic. “They come to us.”

Jovanovic added that the department seeks to attract a large range of students, including adult learners and continuing education students. 

University of Alabama

Created as part of the University of Alabama’s Initiative on Manufacturing Development and Education, the school’s Manufacturing Systems Engineering program, which launched in the fall of 2022, will prepare students for careers in advanced manufacturing systems. Students will have access to the initiative’s manufacturing lab, including tools like robotics and logic controllers, as they navigate classes like computer aided manufacturing and modern manufacturing practices. 

Designed in partnership with some of Alabama’s largest manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, the program will help usher students from the graduation podium to the manufacturing floor. Courses include the basics of robotics, flexible manufacturing systems and introduction to industrial management. 

Los Angeles Pierce College

Los Angeles Pierce College announced two firsts when the community college launched its biotechnology manufacturing program in April 2023. The degree will be the first four-year degree offered at the school.

Jeannine Kunz, chief workforce development officer for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, said that offering enrollment at the community college level is part of a strategy to help manufacturers explore different avenues for recruiting workers and enticing individuals to enter workplace training programs. 

“There's a lot we're trying to do to help manufacturers look at a more diversified way of recruiting and [increasing] enrollment into their programs,” she said.

Funded with a $2 million Community Project Funding grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the program is partnering with external organizations including life sciences research and advocacy group Biocom California Biocom California and regional employers in the sector to prepare students for the workforce. 

University of Northern Iowa

Building on existing programs and facilities focused on skills such as metal casting, the University of Northern Iowa will launch two new degrees starting in fall 2024: a bachelor of science in materials science and engineering and a bachelor of science in materials science engineering technology. 

The programs were designed in response to the need for manufacturing talent from companies including John Deere, Collins Aerospace and BAE systems. Advanced manufacturing is the largest industry in the state, adding $31 billion a year to Iowa’s economy and employing 225,000 people as of December 2021.  

To complement students’ work, the programs will offer paid research projects by funded by agencies such as NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense.

Purdue University

Indiana-based Purdue University is no newcomer to manufacturing studies. In 2022 it launched a semiconductor degrees program, created in response to the growing need for chip production skills in the U.S. 

The suite of degrees and credentials offered at the associate, undergraduate, graduate and doctorate level include access to internships, a virtual lab, and soon, access to a $1.8 billion on-campus fabrication site built in partnership with chipmaker SkyWater Technologies.

The program is one of many offerings to come out of its eXcellence in Manufacturing and Operations Purdue Engineering Initiative launched in May as part of an effort by the school to meet the needs of an evolving industry, said initiative co-chair Ajay Malshe. 

“As a land grant university with a tremendous history in manufacturing, we [decided we] should undertake [this] responsibility,” Malshe said. “This new initiative is going to address enrollment, address the new faculty and address the new industrial ecosystem.”

In a 2023 PwC survey, 62% of manufacturers said they plan to increase their frontline manufacturing workforce in the next year. Despite that high interest, nearly half of survey respondents rated the quality of their company’s approach to creating a positive frontline employee experience as “average” or “below average.”

That gap leaves many manufacturers looking for new ways to recruit and retain this segment of workers. 

One of the most effective solutions to create a positive work culture for frontline employees is by seeking direct feedback from workers. However, the survey found only 58% of manufacturers periodically survey their frontline workers about employment engagement and culture, said Anjana Gigi Radhakrishnan, associate director of Workforce Insights and Research at The Manufacturing Institute, which collaborated with PwC for the survey.

This creates a discrepancy between what employers think workers want versus what workers actually desire. That gap widened during the pandemic, when frontline employers faced various hiring challenges, from mandating and encouraging in-person attendance to navigating sudden spikes in demand, said Joanna Cooper, general manager at Daimler Truck North America.

Even as the pandemic fades into the background, retention problems persist. The National Association of Manufacturers’ Q3 2023 outlook survey, found workforce challenges continue to be a top issue for U.S.-based manufacturers of all sizes. 

The PwC survey interviewed 108 human resources and operations leaders within the manufacturing industry to identify the workplace needs and preferences of frontline manufacturing workers. Here are the key findings and how manufacturers can effectively hire and retain frontline workers moving forward.

Frontline workers want flexible hours

The survey found flexible scheduling to be one of the most impactful factors for creating a positive workplace for frontline workers, at 68% of respondents. Darrin Baldinelli, who has been hiring frontline manufacturing workers across the U.S. since 2006 and now works as a general manager of manufacturing consulting firm Trigo Group, has noticed this firsthand.

“Flexibility has become one of the most desired aspects among candidates seeking frontline positions,” Baldinelli said. This can include flextime, shift work or compressed workweeks in which the employee works for more hours four days a week instead of the usual work hours for five.

This can help manufacturing companies tap into a pool of workers that wouldn’t apply without the ability to personalize their schedules.

“For working parents, it can mean their schedules allow them to pick their kids from school, and for employees in a college program, they can fit classes around their shifts,” Baldinelli said. “On the employer’s side, we find flexible schedules increase workplace morale, engagement and retention.”

A need for better training and mentorship

Better training and mentorship opportunities can significantly boost employee engagement and retention. However, according to the PwC survey, 71% of manufacturers say that they either struggle with or could improve their mentoring programs for frontline workers.

“Many frontline environments have traditionally relied on ‘on-the-job training’, better known as trial by fire,” Cooper said. “Often, the demands of the work environments result in employees being left alone and trying to tackle an overwhelming ramp-up curve in a short probationary period with limited flexibility.”

This can be improved by “designing an onboarding experience that makes workers feel a sense of purpose and belonging, develops skills needed on the job, and establishes confidence in their roles and responsibilities,” Radhakrishnan said. “The first 90 days are crucial for long-term retention.”

In addition, having dedicated mentorship opportunities and career development pathways can help frontline workers understand what they need to do to grow with the company in the long run.

Offering a wide range of benefits

Not every employee is the same, and offering a wide range of benefits can give manufacturing companies the best chance at satisfying varying worker needs.

“No one method works all the time, so strategies must include a full tool belt of solutions, carefully chosen for the current environment and dynamic enough to adapt to change,” Baldinelli said.

For example, there may be times when an attendance bonus will boost worker presence, while sometimes a performance-based reward system may work well.

Beyond what’s typically expected and offered, manufacturers can consider options like extra floating holidays, wellbeing allowances and expanded learning opportunities, including both safety and skill development, said Anthony Abbatiello, U.S. workforce transformation practice leader at PwC. Benefits should extend into well-being, including mental health resources and on-site fitness centers, Abbatiello added.

Addressing childcare needs is also key, Radhakrishan noted. Nearly half of manufacturers that offer dynamic scheduling do so to accommodate workers’ childcare or elderly care needs, according to the survey.

“With childcare costs rising and shortages across the country, manufacturers can address this key need by offering paid parental leave, reimbursed childcare costs, and on-site childcare facilities,” Radhakrishnan said.

In addition to benefits that attract workers, reducing the time of the “application to hire” cycle can be an effective strategy, Abbatiello said.

“Depending on the skill level, manufacturers can improve acceptance rates if cycle times are less than 30 days, and, in some cases, less than 15 days, by leveraging talent intelligence technology,” Abbatiello said.

About 43% of workers across generations are worried that another employee with better skills in generative artificial intelligence could replace them in their role in the next year, according to a Feb. 12, 2024 report from D2L, a learning technology company.

Generation Z workers appear to be most worried about this. While 52% of Gen Z workers said they’re worried about being replaced within the next year, 45% of millennials and 33% of Generation X workers said the same.

“What this new data suggests is that there’s an opportunity for employers to help workers better prepare themselves for the future and to give people the confidence that they can continue to make a meaningful contribution in their roles,” Sasha Thackaberry, vice president of Wave at D2L, said in a statement. “Skills development — whether it’s on using generative AI more efficiently or simply upskilling to stay ahead of change — is crucial for workers to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape of work.”

In a survey of 3,000 full-time and part-time U.S. employees, 60% said they want to use generative AI tools more frequently at work during the next year. About 49% said they’re already using AI tools at least once a week at work, and 52% said they’re using the tools outside of work. At the same time, 37% said they never use AI tools.

In preparation for the future workplace, younger workers were more likely to say they plan to take multiple professional development courses during the next year. About 26% of Gen Z workers and 24% of millennials said they plan to enroll in 6-10 courses in the next 12 months, as compared with 12% of Gen X workers.

Despite ongoing unease about AI in the workplace, worker confidence may be growing compared to previous years, according to a Robert Half report. HR and tech professionals, in particular, believe generative AI tools will create more demand for their skills.

However, mid-career professionals and managers (between ages 25-54) appear to be most at risk for generative AI disruption, according to an Indeed report. Many of these positions are considered “exposed” to disruption, where AI can perform a high percentage of the required skills in a “good” or “excellent” manner.

From an HR perspective, AI tools have the potential for “massive gains,” an HR software expert told HR Dive. AI can help with predictive text and scheduling functions, for instance, which may assist with talent acquisition. AI may also account for human bias and improve diversity and inclusion objectives, she said.

The southeastern U.S. has become a hub for battery manufacturing in recent years. In a January forecast of the sector, the Department of Energy highlighted Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia as likely to see the most production capacity growth by the end of the decade.

The area, dubbed the “battery belt,” has risen in popularity for the sector given its proximity to ports and transportation corridors, utility connections, water availability, sites prime for development and ease of permitting, said Betony Jones, director of the department’s Office of Energy Jobs.

Alongside the rise in manufacturing investment is a need for talent to fill the factories being built. Schools, universities, training centers, state governments and manufacturers themselves are launching a wide range of initiatives to meet the growing demand for a trained workforce as battery manufacturers increase in the region.

The Energy Department’s Battery Workforce Initiative

The Department of Energy’s Battery Workforce Initiative is one such program looking to bring new talent into the battery manufacturing sector. The initiative is working with industry experts to identify the core skills needed for battery manufacturing jobs, and using this information to create national training guidelines for local workforce education and training programs, Jones said. 

The initiative aims to standardize workforce development in ways that ensure employers and workers alike find the skills and resources they need, as well as solve the skills gap many companies contend with in battery manufacturing.

The battery workforce initiative also works to solve the skills gap issue many companies face in battery manufacturing. 

“While many programs already exist to train workers for battery manufacturing, there is a significant mismatch between the skills attained through classroom or lab training and the skills required on the job,” Jones said. “Under this program, the training for battery manufacturing workers will involve both classroom training and on-the-job training with mentorship.”

Georgia Quick Start

In Georgia, the state boasts its Georgia Quick Start initiative, a free and customizable workforce training program administered through the Technical College System of Georgia.

“Quick Start designs training regimens that meet the specific needs of the employer, and trains the workers to be ready to start work as soon as the manufacturing facility is ready to begin production,” said Kristi Brigman, deputy commissioner of global commerce at the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

SK Battery America is one of the many battery manufacturers benefiting from the program. “Thanks to a strong partnership with the state of Georgia and the Quick Start program, SK Battery America, recently announced they had exceeded their hiring goal two years ahead of the initial projected timeline,” Brigman added.

“The Georgia Quick Start program has helped us attract and train workers with a speed and scale that would be difficult for any company to do on its own,” said Steven Jahng, director of external affairs at SK Battery America in Commerce, Georgia. “We exceeded our local hiring goal of 2,600 employees, and we’ve expanded to 3,000+ employees to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles.”

Freyr Battery is another company benefiting from the program. “We have begun working with Georgia Quick Start to develop the employee onboarding and technical training that will be needed once we hire the talented people from the pipeline,” said Lars Kvadsheim, vice president of HR & Sustainability in Freyr Operations and Michael J. Brose, vice president of U.S. Operations.

The role of educational institutes

One of the biggest reasons Freyr chose Georgia as the home of its U.S. gigafactory is the state’s access to universities like Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Aurburn University, as well as a robust technical college system, according to Kvadsheim and Brose. 

Freyr has also partnered with West Georgia Technical College to explore curriculum and certificate programs to help build a strong future candidate pipeline for the battery maker. 

Jahng of SK Battery America also credits the state’s local educational institutions for the company’s workforce development success.

“The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) has the curriculum and programs in place to support our manufacturing,” Jahng said. “From production-level certificates to entry-level engineering, TCSG has a lot to offer companies setting up a manufacturing plant.”

Educational institutes in other southeast states have also launched new programs catering to battery manufacturing needs.

For example, this fall South Carolina’s Clemson University will begin offering the nation's first bachelor of science degree in automotive engineering, through which students will take classes, work in the local industry and tackle real-world problems in the school’s lab facilities, said David Clayton, executive director at Clemson’s International Center for Automotive Research.

In addition, Clemson will continue to offer its master's and PhD programs in automotive engineering, where students have the option to perform a specialized course of study or research in electric powertrains and/or EV and battery manufacturing. For students in other departments of the university, a minor program in the electrification of transportation is also available, which offers classes on battery engineering.

Other local education institutions are also planning for the future. Trident Technical College, Greenville Technical College and Spartanburg Community college have formed the consortium Revolutionizing Electric Vehicle Education, focused on developing and investigating the use of VR and AR educational tools to support electric vehicle and battery manufacturing, Clayton said. The initiative received $2.83 million from the National Science Foundation to fund the project. 

"With the aid of several state and federal government programs, South Carolina continues to invest heavily in its 16 technical colleges to prepare the local workforce,” Clayton said. 

In 2019, women made up 30% of the manufacturing industry. That’s despite making up over 50% of the U.S. population and 47% of the total national workforce.

The fact that women make up a significantly smaller portion of the manufacturing labor force is central in the conversation around how to close the industry's labor gap. 

As companies consider how to fill the more than 800,000 worker shortfall in the industry, many are weighing how to better recruit and retain women, who enter and stay in manufacturing at lower rates than men. Some are offering on-campus childcare, while others are investing more heavily in mentoring and leadership programs. 

Such initiatives are proving crucial for companies as they consider how to keep talent in a chronically tight labor market.

The Manufacturing Institute honed in on the issue in a November 2022 study on how to close the gender gap. The Institute received 190 responses to its survey, and conducted interviews with executives at seven manufacturing companies to inform their research, including Dow and Cornerstone Building Brands. 

The study found that women make up an undeniable portion of potential talent. If the percentage of women in manufacturing were raised to 35%, it would bring 800,000 workers into the industry, enough to fill nearly all of the open roles in the market. 

"The key theme of one of the major problems that all manufacturers are trying to solve is the availability of quality talent and the labor shortage that we're experiencing," said Rose Lee, president and CEO of Cornerstone Building Brands, during a recent Manufacturing Institute webinar. 

"There is a very large untapped potential in a pool of talent that we're not able to fully bring into the fold of the manufacturing space at large." 

Childcare is a central issue for women

Across manufacturing companies, one issue remains critical to recruiting and retaining women – childcare. 

The availability and affordability of childcare is an issue that plagues families in many industries, but particularly in manufacturing and production roles, where work is more likely to be on an in-person shift schedule. In addition, many women in these roles are single parents, said Allison Grealis, founder and president of the Women in Manufacturing Association. 

"Many of them are on their own supporting their families," Grealis said. "So, the more that we can intervene and help them from an early stage in their career so that they can be successful and rise within their organizations and in this industry, the better for all of us."

Lack of childcare ranked as one of the top challenges facing women employees in the Institute's survey. Nearly 50% of manufacturing leaders cited it as a top challenge heard from women, versus only 8% for men. 

Some companies have opted to tackle this issue by bringing childcare onsite. Toyota offers childcare services at its Indiana and Kentucky facilities for children as young as six-weeks-old. 

For smaller companies, another option is to subsidize childcare costs for employees, or partner with a local provider, said Manufacturing Institute President Carolyn Lee. 

"Obviously, a company the size of Toyota can do many things and create an onsite facility and some other other opportunities," Lee said.  "But even a small employer can work locally to create some creative solutions." 

The need for childcare services goes hand-in-hand with the need for greater flexibility in schedules. Giving parents shift schedules that allow for things such as school pickup or dropoff can be key, Lee noted. 

According to the Institute’s survey, 63% of respondents ranked lack of flexibility as the number one challenge heard from women employees

"Flexible shift hours, or looking to offer flexibility to employees, is another way to get at the care issues that is next to formal childcare options," Lee said. "There's no one silver bullet. We need to look at varied approaches because people have various needs."

Creating an environment for women to succeed

A lack of mentorship and opportunities for advancement is another obstacle plaguing many women in the industry, and it starts at the beginning, Graelis said. Companies need to be conscious of how they market themselves to women and tell the story of their workplace. 

This includes using inclusive language in job descriptions and reconsidering which skills they list as "required" versus "desired," which can help more individuals feel confident in applying for a position, Grealis said. 

Once in the company, women need mentors who can help show them an upward career path. A study earlier this year from Xometry and Women in Manufacturing found that 44% of women cited leadership/management training as having the most significant impact on their career advancement, with mentorships at 35%. 

"Mentoring programs are also highly successful, whether they be formal and or informal within companies," Grealis said. "A lot of companies have even started to use software that helps them match people within different facilities that have similar backgrounds."

Some companies are also offering discussion prompts and guides for mentees and mentors to facilitate discussion, she added.  

On the shop floor, it comes down to creating an atmosphere of inclusion and building on momentum. Creating this environment as a small manufacturer can be difficult at the beginning, but once there are a few champions on the factory floor, it's a "gamechanger," Aneesa Muthana, president and co-owner of Pioneer Services, said during the Institute's webinar. 

"[It's about] having those allies and sending a message and not putting your female employees on a pedestal, but instead work towards stewardship," Muthana said. "Work towards teamwork, and make everyone understand that when we lose we all lose, when we win, we all win.”

As manufacturers review their recruitment strategies, many of them are brainstorming around the same issue: how to attract young talent. 

In an industry where the median age of workers is 44-years-old, companies are increasingly turning to the next generation in the hopes of solving their labor constraint woes. 

Manufacturers, however, face an uphill battle, with workers ages 16 to 24-years-old making up only 8% of the manufacturing workforce in 2021.

In a competitive labor market, Gen Z workers are demanding strong wages, more flexibility and clear upward mobility, pushing companies to adjust their job offerings and opportunities to meet young people where they're at. 

"Smart companies are connecting [Gen Z] to a bigger purpose," said Julie Davis, senior director of workforce and industry initiatives at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. "They are painting the picture of what a career with their company could look like."

Gen Z doesn’t just want a job, they want a career

When trying to attract young workers, one of the biggest hurdles manufacturers face is showing Gen Z recruits the clear career path that awaits them in the industry, said Patrick O'Rahilly, founder of manufacturing recruitment platform Factory Fix. 

"I think the biggest thing is you have to sell them on the potential career path and what can come next, versus the actual job that they start in," O'Rahilly said. "Because usually the actual job is not going to be super glamorous or super impactful. Manufacturing is one of those industries where you have a slow growth curve."

Proving to recruits that the company offers upward mobility from the factory floor up to management is key, particularly as manufacturers attempt to compete with the competitive wages at places like Amazon and the scheduling flexibility offered by DoorDash, Uber and others, he added. 

"The one place it truly can compete are the career tracks that exist within the industry. There's a pretty clear path to a six-figure career if you can be disciplined about getting better in your trade,” O’Rahilly said. “That's really the thing manufacturers have to lean into more."

The earning potential in manufacturing is clear. For example, while the average machinery manufacturing annual wage for assemblers and fabricators, common entry-level positions, is $40,950, among management occupations it's $135,330, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

It's that kind of data that could also help the industry continue to overcome its longstanding perception problem as an industry lacking in competitive salaries or technology.

The pandemic has helped to change that narrative, highlighting the critical and technical nature of manufacturing, according to a 2022 study from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute. The study found a 25% increase in the number of respondents who "believe US manufacturing jobs are creative, innovative, and employ problem-solving skills," up from 39% in 2017 to 64% in 2021. 

Similarly, the study saw a jump in the number of respondents who were likely to encourage their child or other youth to pursue a career in manufacturing, up to 40% last year from 27% in 2017.

To capitalize on that change, manufacturers also need to provide potential and current young talent with upskilling and reskilling opportunities, Davis said. 

"If they have some of that skill base that you're looking for, do you have the capacity to upskill them to the point where they're able to work for you, and if you can't do that internally, are you working with an educational partner that can help create that bridge?" Davis said. "And so it is all about micro learning, and being able to do that gap training."

Creating an ideal environment for young workers

A common priority among Gen Z talent is flexibility in their position, Davis said. Such an ask, particularly when it comes to remote work opportunities, is difficult in an industry that relies on in-person labor on a factory floor. 

Despite the challenge, she noted there are many ways employers can approach the issue and offer other forms of flexibility. It starts by asking employees what kinds of flexibility they value. 

This could include options such as shift schedules that more carefully match school schedules, additional PTO that workers can use for medical appointments or even a four-day workweek. 

"It's really about understanding the needs and goals of your workforce, and then creating something that is the best solution for your workers," she said. "Because let's be honest, flexibility for a workforce that is under 35 and what they would want is going to be very different than your average workforce age being 45 or 50."

In the Deloitte and Manufacturing Institute study, researchers found that surveyed executives were also increasingly offering options such as shit swapping, part-time jobs and shorter contracts. 

Finally, Davis noted that when it comes to the working environment, Gen Z employees aren't just looking for a boss, they want a mentor. 

"Gen Z expects you to be a coach and mentor, and when you're not, they don't want to work with you," she said. "They're fair question askers. And if you don't have a supervisor over Gen Z that is willing to answer their questions and be in communication with them and be that coach, you're going to lose them.”

Dive Brief:

• The solar energy industry will need to more than triple its workforce by 2030 to meet the Solar Energy Industries Association’s solar generation goal, which will require training many workers who have little to no solar experience, said Will White, a solar applications specialist at Fluke.
• White, who previously provided curriculum and training for Solar Energy International, said in an interview that most of the people coming into the industry are receiving on-the-job training, which “varies pretty significantly from company to company.”
• SEIA is working on developing a set of solar and energy storage industry standards, including standards for training, which would “go a long way” toward providing industry-wide consistency, “something we’re definitely lacking at this point,” White said.

Dive Insight:

SEIA received approval in July 2023 from the American National Standards Institute to develop a set of voluntary consensus standards for the solar industry including consumer protection, recycling, and supply chain traceability as well as training for installation, operations and maintenance, and health and safety.

“It's always good [for installers to] know, for instance, why are you plugging these things in together? What does it actually do?” White said. “It leads to people understanding when something is wrong, which leads to better quality on the back end — something that has been an issue in the industry for sure.”

White said that proper formal training for solar workers leads them to have a more holistic view of the process, which leads to lower operations and maintenance costs. 

Worker demand is high across the renewable energy industry as projects in development have skyrocketed in the year since the Inflation Reduction Act passed. Many solar manufacturers and installers are expanding their operations in order to take advantage of this boom, and need to expand their labor force accordingly.

In the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s 2022 National Solar Jobs Census, 44% of solar industry employers reported that it was “very difficult” to find qualified applicants, the highest percentage the census has ever recorded.

This level of demand means there are plenty of opportunities for workers who want to leave jobs in low-skilled labor or the service industry and move to a role that offers “more of a career path,” White said.

However, that means the “bar to get in is really low,” he said, with many employers focusing on soft skills like punctuality and willingness to learn instead of directly applicable experience — making good on-the-job training key to the overall success of the industry.

White has seen some companies offer in-house apprenticeship programs where four days a week are spent on the job and one day a week spent in the classroom, while other companies offer much more hands-off training.

However, companies and nonprofits like Solar Energy International, HeatSpring and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association have offered solar workforce training programs and curriculum for years, White said, while community colleges, trade schools, and unions like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are increasingly offering solar training.

The IRA requires a percentage of labor on certain projects be completed by registered apprentices in order to qualify for tax credits, but there may not be enough registered apprentices on the market to meet labor demands. Bernice Diaz, a labor and employment attorney with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, said during an industry conference in February that the IRA “created a surge of demand” for apprentices but “did little to address” the shortage.

White called apprenticeship requirements a “double-edged sword,” due in part to the current lack of a federal apprenticeship designation for solar installers.

The occupation of solar installer is “not currently approved for use in a Registered Apprenticeship Program,” according to the Department of Labor’s website. The roles of solar technician, designer, and engineer are also not currently approved for use.

“That makes it challenging in terms of, okay, well, what [occupation] do you register them as?” White said. “We're working through that now – right now it’s being set up at the state level.”