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Workforce Development Summit Webinar Series Nov. 16-18
By Meghan Ryan, NATM Assistant Director
The light- and medium-duty trailer industry continues to face a debilitating workforce shortage that was only made worse by the pandemic. This challenge parallels the national trend for all manufacturing industries as there are currently 851,000 open positions in manufacturing industries across the nation, according to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). The number is only expected to grow, with an estimated two million jobs left unfilled by 2025 and 2.4 million in 2028.
NATM has heard the industry’s concerns and is actively working to create learning opportunities to address the workforce shortage. NATM will host a three-part webinar series November 16-18 on workforce and automation to help members address this challenge and ensure they can adapt to this issue long term in order to stay competitive.
Manufacturing faces a perception issue regarding the attractiveness of the industry as a career path. Only 27 percent of parents have a positive impression of careers in manufacturing, according to NAM’s survey results. This does not bode well for companies looking to hire younger generations to fill roles that are quickly being left empty by the retiring Baby Boomer generation. Additionally, the industry is facing a numbers game with the odds against it; thus, it will be crucial to look for alternatives to staffing such as automation and robotics to make up for the lack of employee candidates. This year’s Workforce Development Summit will delve into learning how automation can assist with the workforce shortage and improve the experience and career paths of your current employees, as well as more information about apprenticeships and available workbased learning opportunities available to in which to become involved.
NATM’s Workforce Development Webinar Series will feature automation, onboarding, apprenticeships and work-based learning. The webinar series will take place online over the course of three days, Nov. 16-18, 2021. Attendance is free for NATM Members and Dealer Affiliates.
For questions or concerns, contact NATM Assistant Director Meghan Ryan at Meghan.Ryan@natm.com or (785) 272-4433.
