The economy is cracking the door open for higher-wage jobs in the manufacturing industry, but the unemployed do not have the right skills to enter and take advantage of the opportunity, according to a recent New York Times article.
Factory Jobs Return, but Employers Find Skills Shortage highlights the skills gap that has widened across the nation as manufacturing companies, particularly industries focused in fast-growing products like advanced medical devices and wind turbines, have difficulty finding qualified workers in the United States. Low-skilled jobs are being outsourced overseas, leaving the U.S. unemployed to vie for higher-wage jobs that require higher-level expertise – an opportunity and conundrum for the workforce.
Businesses are looking to hire people “who can operate sophisticated computerized machinery, follow complex blueprints and demonstrate higher math proficiency than was previously required of the typical assembly line worker,†according to the article. That demand is likely not going to change, even as the economy shifts, manufacturers added.