Worker shortage hits factories

Statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that manufacturing employment nationwide is down 17.5 percent since the beginning of 2000.

Rita Needham, director of the Southwest Area Manufacturers Association, cited a study that says by 2010, there will be a nationwide shortage of 13 million to 15 million manufacturing workers, adding that “we are already starting to see that here.”

A lack of qualified workers has led to the need to outsource jobs, which many manufacturers are doing in order to increase efficiency and compete globally.

Rob Simon can attest to the need for efficiency. He’s been the president of Allen Filters Inc. since February and has reduced company employment by more than 60 percent since taking over. He now outsources all of the company’s industrial filter manufacturing.

“When they left, I outsourced the basic manufacturing, which can be done by anybody,” Simon said. “I no longer have the headache of trying to keep people busy, checking on them every step of the way.

That’s the fundamental approach that I’ve taken to this company – it’s a well-established company and has a good name in the industry, but it had to be brought into the 21st century.”

Simon said he intends to gradually add staff as he finds the qualified personnel to fill the positions.

But that leads to the second major impediment to manufacturing employment growth – a lack of skilled, yet unemployed, workers.

Patti Penny, president and founder of Penmac Personnel Services, said part of the difficulty in attracting new manufacturing workers is the nature of the work – hard work that requires standing for long hours. “We have a young work force without a lot of experience, coming into an environment where they haven’t been exposed to that,” she said.

Nearly 85 percent of jobs filled by Penmac applicants are in the manufacturing field. Penny said she has seen increased difficulty not only in filling those jobs but also in finding workers willing to stay with those jobs.

“In my upbringing, you had chores to do; if I wanted an allowance there was something I had to do for that,” she said. “It was the expectation that if you want to receive money, you’re going to have to put out some effort. I don’t believe we have that expectation anymore.”

Needham agreed; she has heard the same complaints from nearly every manufacturer she’s talked to over the last three months.

“They’re finding that they’re hiring people that will be there for a couple of days and then not show up again,” she said. “You used to have a job and value it. Now we’re seeing people who don’t think it’s that important. If they find something else, or the work is too hard, they just don’t show up. That’s difficult for employers to deal with.”

David Bakare, president of Executive Coach Builders, can relate. His company employs 172, and he said he moved his limousine manufacturing operation from Seymour last year to access the larger Springfield employee pool.

“We have more applicants now, but most of them are not qualified or they don’t pass drug screening,” Bakare said. “We get a lot of people that aren’t really looking for a job. They just apply so they can report to the unemployment office that they had a job and they lost it.”

He added that, if a company is lucky, 30–40 percent of the people it hires will be with the company after 90 days. Bakare has said only one new hire in 10 sticks with him for a year.

Penny wonders if there isn’t a way to turn around the trend through education.

“It would be wonderful if manufacturing could be taught in the curriculum in the schools, because if you understand the process and see the end product, it can be very interesting and rewarding and secure,” she said. “A lot of young people haven’t been trained that way and sometimes it’s difficult for them to think about doing physical labor.”

Needham said that one of the keys to turning around the manufacturing industry might be the same trend that has partially caused the shortage in the first place – overseas work.

She cites examples of companies that have joint ventures in other countries that allow them access to foreign markets.

“I’m always looking for the positive side, how (outsourcing) is helping to keep jobs here in southwest Missouri,” Needham said. “Tuthill (Vacuum and Blower Systems) is an example. They have a joint venture in China, but if they didn’t have that, they might have to lose some of their jobs here locally. They are now continuing to grow and add jobs.”

In the end, despite the moving of jobs to other countries or to automated systems, Needham said that the American manufacturing worker always will be needed.

“We certainly are automating more, but what will happen is the role of the manufacturing employee will change – they’ll be (working) in other areas,” she said. “We’ll never eliminate the need for them completely.”