Discover your next big idea at PACK EXPO Las Vegas this September
Experience a breakthrough in packaging & processing and transform your business with solutions from 2,300 suppliers spanning all industries.
REGISTER NOW & SAVE

Workforce issues drop to number two concern for manufacturers

For the last several years, when manufacturers gather to discuss issues of concern, the dwindling skilled workforce has repeatedly been at the top of the list. The workforce issues haven't yet been solved, but recent evidence suggests that the Affordable Care Act is now the top concern, not only among manufacturers, but other businesses as well.

Pw 56753 Ontheedge 29 0

In my various roles as a manufacturing technology consultant, I have been fortunate  to have been invited to participate in many different roundtable and workshop venues in which manufacturing executives discuss their mutual concerns.  These concerns range from trade policy to regulation to taxes to availability of capital. But in every case that I can recall, the top issue always comes around to the need for a skilled workforce.  Manufacturers are being hit from multiple directions with increasing levels of technology, large numbers of retirements, a society predisposed against manufacturing, and declining levels of student achievement.  And all this at home, while foreign competitors graduate large numbers of engineers and technicians who are anxious to work with world-class manufacturing processes. 

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with a large group of workforce professionals who represent thousands of employers.  We did discuss manufacturing workforce issues and the need for workforce technical development.  But this time something was different.  This time everyone's focus was on the impact of the Affordable Care Act.  The anecdotes were consistent across the board and fell into several clearly defined categories.  Companies with slightly more than 50 employees are planning to downsize.  Companies are deferring growth if it requires new hiring.  Companies are planning cutting hours to reduce their fulltime headcount.  Companies are relying more heavily on temporary service agencies.  Healthcare organizations are slowing or setting aside expansion plans and have put hiring freezes on occupations such as Registered Nurses.

I know that optimism ran high at Pack Expo Las Vegas with indications that the economy is on the mend and businesses are planning capital investments. But, will these translate into good jobs and investments in people?  What are you seeing?

Conveying Innovations Report
Editors report on distinguishing characteristics that define each new product and collected video demonstrating the equipment or materials as displayed at the show. This topical report, winnowed from nearly 300 PACK EXPO collective booth visits, represents a categorized, organized account of individual items that were selected based on whether they were deemed to be both new, and truly innovative, based on decades of combined editorial experience in experiencing and evaluating PACK EXPO products.
Take me there
Conveying Innovations Report
Coding, Marking, and Labeling Innovations Report
Explore our editor-curated report featuring cutting-edge coding, labeling, and RFID innovations from PACK EXPO 2024. Discover high-speed digital printing, sustainable label materials, automated labeling systems, and advanced traceability solutions that are transforming packaging operations across industries.
Access Report
Coding, Marking, and Labeling Innovations Report