Author: Jared Carter

The shrinking workforce is causing a manufacturing labour shortage. According to Apricitas Economics, manufacturing jobs have declined to 8% of the U.S. workforce, the lowest share ever recorded. Furthermore, the issue has become more acute in the past two years. The industry has lost more than 200K jobs since 2023. Competitive enterprises are facing the manufacturing labour shortage head-on, adapting their workforce strategies to operate at full capacity with fewer people on the frontline. The key is a digitally enabled team.

What's Creating the Manufacturing Labor Shortage?

Several trends have converged to lead to the manufacturing labour shortage, from an ageing labour market to evolving job candidate expectations. Manufacturers must overcome challenges from:

• Retirements: The National Association of Manufacturers reports that by 2033, retirements will create 2.8 million job openings.

• Skills Mismatches: NPR points out that only 2 out of 5 manufacturing jobs are involved in making things. The industry needs people skilled in areas including R&D, engineering, design, finance, and sales.

• Fewer Entrants in the Field: With labour shortages impacting nearly every sector, manufacturers must compete for employees. Apprenticeships can encourage more people to pursue a career in the industry, but only 0.3% of the U.S. working-age population are apprentices.

• Talent Retention: Staffing and consulting firm Compunnel research shows that manufacturing turnover has risen to 40%. Generational trends are making retention more of a challenge than when manufacturers hired baby boomers or Gen X. Gen Z employees change jobs, on average, every 2.3 years.

Can You Wait Out the Manufacturing Labor Shortage?

As technology advances, manufacturers are digitally transforming their operations. New systems and equipment enable more automation, efficiency, supply chain visibility, and inventory accuracy. When manufacturers transform processes digitally, the labour demand decreases. However, for most manufacturers, achieving the vision of minimising manual processes with fully automated systems is years away. Enterprises need to find ways to work productively now, during their digital transformation, while facing a manufacturing labour shortage.

How to Create a Digital Workforce Strategy

Faced with the manufacturing labour shortage, enterprises need technologies that enable increasing productivity per worker. The right solutions allow manufacturers to:

Create a Connected Frontline

Manufacturers can increase productivity and efficiency by equipping the frontline with technology that keeps them connected to the systems and data necessary to do their jobs effectively. Enterprise mobility solutions can give every worker a direct line of communication to their teams. Enterprises can enhance work with voice direction for streamlined processes and minimal errors.

Arming employees with mobile devices may also improve employee retention. Gen Z workers, in addition to many of their older peers, use technology in their daily lives to make tasks easier and more convenient. Enabling similar experiences at work can help employees be more successful in their roles, increase job satisfaction, and positively impact employee retention.

Work Efficiently Without Institutional Knowledge

As older employees retire, manufacturers face the potential of vital information leaving with them. Digitizing processes and capturing data prevent the loss of institutional knowledge. It also gives newer employers access to information by accessing systems and data without relying on more seasoned employees to train them to do their jobs. A digital workforce builds confidence, works independently, and provides value to their teams faster.

Share Real-Time Data, Across the Board

A key to overcoming the labour shortage is empowering every employee throughout the organisation to make intelligent decisions, from the frontline to management and the C-suite. It requires capturing data at critical points, creating a data stream that provides vital information to the people, processes, and systems that need it.

The Benefits of Well-Planned Digital Workforce Strategies

Developing a roadmap for creating a digital workforce that eases the challenges of the manufacturing labour shortage will result in return on investment (ROI) in a range of ways:

• Better collaboration and alignment within the team and across teams

• Streamlined training that leads to new hires working independently faster

• Enhanced communication and workplace safety

• Easier cross-training and reskilling for greater workforce agility

• Achieving high product quality standards, SLAs, and customer satisfaction

• Greater efficiency, higher throughput, and a better bottom line

• Higher job satisfaction and more power to recruit and retain employees

What a Digital Workforce Looks Like In Your Organization

Although manufacturers are facing challenges from an ageing workforce, competing with other industries for talent, and younger workers prone to switching jobs every few years, technology can help them maximise throughput with fewer people on the frontline.

Levata successfully helps enterprises digitise processes with manufacturing solutions, including:

• Manufacturing execution systems that reduce costs and increase operational and inventory visibility

• Next-level packing that maximises packed space by determining load dimensions

• Device and asset tracking that saves time and reduces losses

• Vision systems that increase accuracy and simplify quality control processes

• Mobile and wearable devices for effective communication and voice direction

• Labeling and conveyor systems that automate processes

Contact our team to identify opportunities to digitise processes and maximise throughput, even when faced with labour shortages.

About the Author: Jared Carter, Senior Director of Enterprise Sales at Levata, works closely with organisations to design and deliver manufacturing technology strategies that improve operational performance across the entire supply chain. With deep experience helping manufacturers modernise frontline operations, he partners with customers to implement mobility, automation, and data-capture solutions that enhance workforce productivity, increase inventory and asset visibility, and streamline workflows from receiving to production to distribution. At Levata, Jared focuses on helping manufacturers leverage connected devices, real-time data, and lifecycle support services to drive greater efficiency, accuracy, and operational agility across their facilities.