When the pandemic hit, manufacturers were already behind in terms of embracing new forms of learning. Training people, recruiting new people, troubleshooting problems in training and education is a must for manufacturers and now is the time to do it.
Developed nations, though equipped with industrial and educational infrastructures, face a current and increasing shortage of qualified, skilled and motivated workers.
Since the economy climbed out of the last recession, “Help Wanted” signs have become a common fixture near manufacturing facilities all over the United States. With 10,000 baby boomers reaching 65 each day, retirements are leaving a significant experience gap to be filled.
A much-discussed manufacturing skills gap between retiring baby boomers and millennials in their 20s and 30s—plus, current 18 to 23-year-olds who belong to Generation Z—remains an issue.
Bridging the gap is a popular idiom derived from Old English. In its earliest use—and not surprisingly—bridge meant “to make a causeway” and gap meant “an opening in a wall.” So, to the drywallers, civil engineers, and road construction crews of the early 14th century (Ha!), bridging a gap was quite literal.