Engage the Young with the Young
Career satisfaction is an enticing message to spread about manufacturing. It also presents a challenge, says the SME's Tomlinson. The message must be multigenerational, not delivered solely by older, white males "like me," Tomlinson says.
A younger population within manufacturing is difficult to find, at least according to IndustryWeek's 2012 salary survey. The profile of the average salary-survey respondent is overwhelmingly male and white, age 50 or more, and with 26-plus years of experience in manufacturing. While the skew toward older respondents can be explained in part by experience typically being a requirement for management-level positions, attracting younger talent requires messaging from younger talent, Tomlinson suggests.
"We need to get some positive messages from the 32-year-old in the first tier of management, or running their first [work] cell," Tomlinson says. "Those are the kinds of messages we need to get out."
The Society of Manufacturing Engineers is aiding the messaging effort. The SME's Education Foundation, for example, recently has partnered with the Edge Factor (www.edgefactor.com), a video series designed to both change the public perception of manufacturing and attract new talent into the field by showcasing "real people using extreme technology to create the world we see all around us." For example, one episode highlighted Center Rock Inc., whose technology was used to reach the trapped miners in the 2010 Chilean mine disaster.
A message to attract younger talent is one that can't be sent, or heard, soon enough. Not only are IW's survey respondents saying it, they also are showing it. To wit: only 11% of IW's 2012 survey respondents are 39 years old or younger, and just 2% are 21 to 29 years old. Even more worrisome, both figures are down from the 2010 survey, when 15% were 39 or younger, and 3% were 21 to 29 years old.
The Talent Trap
Many salary-survey respondents can't find talented employees. Others are challenged to retain them.
"Manufacturing has a non-appealing image to young people." manufacturing/production manager in the industrial machinery industry with 26-plus years of experience, living in the South Central region and earning $108,000
"Younger engineers are less 'practical' than my generation. We worked on cars -- they don't/can't. They are almost afraid to take apart a leaking pump to determine what happened to it." engineering manager in the consumer goods/durables industry with 26-plus years of experience, living in the Middle Atlantic region and earning $165,000
"The manufacturing industry needs to increase employee benefits, which will help in attracting and keeping quality individuals (it potentially will encourage the youth of tomorrow to be employed in this sector). This will lead those companies to success in the future. The manufacturing sector HAS to tell their story of importance to the U.S. economy. They have sat idle too long! Finally the sector HAS to convey the importance of technical/trade skills to the schools and government. The U.S. is looking at a huge skilled-labor shortage that needs to be looked upon as an opportunity to invest in the future success of manufacturing within the U.S.A. The educational system needs to invest in technical programs with the knowledge that the manufacturing industry will be there supporting those programs." purchasing/procurement/sourcing manager in the metals industry with 16 to 20 years of experience, living in the Pacific region and earning $46,000
"Challenge is retaining talent. Flat, geographically dispersed, functional organizations make it challenging to create opportunities for high performers to stretch and grow." sales/marketing manager in the automotive/transportation vehicles and equipment industry with 26-plus years of experience, living in the North Central region and earning $210,000
Methodology
The IndustryWeek 2012 Salary Survey was conducted online via e-mailed invitations to subscribers. The survey took place in December 2011-January 2012. A total of 1,001 people responded to the survey. After the data were cleaned (removing non-U.S. manufacturers or largely incomplete surveys, primarily), 906 people turned in completed responses from the 2012 survey. Respondents were not compensated but were offered the chance to provide candid comments regarding their salaries, occupations and employers. The candid comments may have been lightly edited, primarily for spelling. All responses were anonymous.
