Skilled trades are faltering in today’s market and the numbers do not lie. Skilled labor is decreasing in manufacturing and industry as seasoned trades personnel retire from the job market. In an article by Forbes, out of the 2.9 Million ‘Skilled-Trade Jobs’, the workforce as surveyed within North America is 52.9% composed of workers over the age of 45, and 20.6% of workers over the age of 55.
With a significant portion of the current manufacturing workforce reaching retirement age, and a newly arriving batch not having the proper skill sets needed in key positions, finding the right employee to fill the gaps can make those in positions of management feel incredibly boxed in and limited with their choices.
Having a skills assessment conducted starts the craft or operations employee down the right path of training for that position in the facility they operate within – here, we’ll discuss the importance of a skills assessment for trades and operating personnel.
Having Confidence in the Workforce
Filling a position, and filling it right, is key within a skilled trade workforce, such as within the bounds of manufacturing. This is especially true when a business relies on its operators to maintain key assets or operate vital equipment. It leaves those lower down in the funnel, those in the positions of onboarding operators, asking: how reliable is our current workforce? What is the knowledge and skill base required for the positions we’re looking to fill?
Both maintenance and production have their own bespoke requirements when it comes to daily functions within a facility. Having the right training plan and goals set is greatly needed to keep any facility reliable. And the passing of “Tribal Knowledge” should not be included as a “training” plan. For many, training is conducted in-house utilizing this knowledge with unwritten and undocumented information that is not commonly known, except by a few who are more significantly tenured within the organization – leaving new hires in the dark.
These gaps will, ultimately, lead to errors and a lack of operator care.
Determining Employee Skill Sets in Manufacturing
This type of effort contributes to errors and loss of revenue due to improper techniques, incorrect troubleshooting steps, and/or improper equipment procedures. By determining where each employee’s knowledge and skill base are located related to their positions, management can align the correct goals, key performance indicators (KPIs), and training requirements.
An assessment of skill gaps and knowledge bases can open a wide window into what’s going on within a workforce. Some may find surprising gaps in what they thought was a fully trained workforce. While it may sound discouraging to find places where skills are lacking, it should be seen as a net positive – it provides an opportunity for defined, actionable training.
The importance of defined training
By incorporating defined training, with known guidelines and proven skill-building techniques, any company, including yours, can function more efficiently, effectively, and be more reliable. To achieve that element, an assessment of the current knowledge and skills of the craft employee and operator is required.
Performing a Skills Assessment
By completing a skills assessment, a company can streamline the workforce culture they intend to achieve. This culture of change happens at the floor level first, when training gaps are identified and employees, on both the maintenance and production side, have the tools in place to perform their jobs more efficiently – and with the precision and operator care that can instill confidence.
Conducting a skills assessment on both sides of the manufacturing spectrum is where to start. A skills assessment is a digital test that identifies employee proficiencies and deficiencies in their current position. Additionally, it can have the benefit of aiding the development of an individual training plan to close identified gaps.
It all begins with leadership taking the reins and moving forward with a skills assessment designed to enhance performance and reliability. Properly communicating a coming assessment or training session will also prove crucial to the overall success of the operation.
Assessing your workforce to establish needs in skills and development is paramount to reaching production and maintenance requirements in today’s competitive market. The first objective of an assessment is to determine which employees would benefit from an initial or core proficiency training course.
This ensures each employee has the foundational skills necessary to obtain the best results. The assessment provides an overall view of the strengths and weaknesses of 26 categories to determine areas for continuous improvement opportunities.
The Maintenance and Essential Craft Skills Assessments
A Maintenance Assessment provides valuable insight into the essential craft skill levels needed to perform precision work necessary to increase assets reliably and strategically offset workforce issues (retirement, new hires, etc.) now facing most organizations.
On the production side of your business, an Essential Craft Skills Assessment provides valuable insight into the essential asset care knowledge and skill levels needed to troubleshoot, perform effective inspection rounds, service, adjust, and understand how systems fail to defend against loss of equipment functionality.
Both assessments become an accurate indicator of the organization’s ability to effectively achieve Reliable Manufacturing®. Armed with accurate skill levels, and an effective skills improvement plan, craft personnel and operators can learn the necessary skills to capture emerging market opportunities and add profitable results… a competitive advantage.
Test Your Skills Today
So, what are you waiting for? Contact Reliability Solutions to start the skills assessment process for both maintenance and production. The test will assist in identifying the gaps in your current training. Partner with Reliability Solutions and move forward now with our Precision Maintenance® courses for craft employees and Process Excellence® courses for production employees.
Having the correct skill set in your facility reduces cost, reduces waste, improves morale, and provides a larger revenue stream. Let Reliability Solutions help with your change to profitable results®.
