A new piece from Sabri Ben-Achour at MarketPlace identifies a unique challenge the manufacturing industry faces as employers say they are unable to find the right talent to fill open positions. While there are many open positions, employers are fiercely competing with each other to fill the roles with the right talent.

With HR and Talent Development departments doing outreach and other in-house training programs to source and select talent, the biggest obstacle employers say they face is the “image problem” in the industry. The image problem, according to manufacturers, stems from the general public not being aware of what manufacturing jobs look like in 2021. These jobs are no longer the assembly lines at factories but technically driven with multiple career path opportunities.

According to the article experts say “it will take everything from more apprenticeships to immigration reform to get enough workers to fill those open positions”. There is also an opportunity for trained talent professionals and skilled Navigators to help fill these open positions by working with job seekers to identify what a career in manufacturing looks like.