Fastest Growing Skills in Manufacturing Job Postings Over the Last Five Years
Last month, Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute released the 6th talent study which found a net need 3.8 million jobs to be filled within the next decade and we’re at risk of not filling up to 1.9 million of those jobs.
To get a sense of the skills that are going to be in demand in the future of the manufacturing workforce, the report analyzed the past five years of job posting data and identified which skills saw the largest increase among job postings during that time frame. As you can see above, simulation and simulation software skills led the way, growing by 75% in job posting relevancy over the last five years. These skills are sought mostly for technology-enabled production or testing roles. We broke down each major skills category into three categories: digital skills, soft skills, and high-level technical skills. What we found is that not only is there the need for digital skills such as enterprise information management and cloud computing, but there’s also growing demand for soft skills.
Soft skills such as customer service (26%), employee relations (22%), critical thinking and problem solving (20%), and client support (16%) are increasingly becoming more in demand in the manufacturing industry. This is partly due to the fact that as new digital technologies are being developed, employees need to have the ability to communicate these technologies to suppliers, customers, and their colleagues on the shop floor and similarly have the soft skills to troubleshoot and creatively problem solve as issues arise from these new technologies.
While digital and soft skills are important skills needed for the future of manufacturing work, traditional technical skills will continue to be in demand moving forward. Major skills categories including aerospace engineering (21%), engineering software (20%) such as CAD programs and plant design systems, and manufacturing processes (17%) including machining, 3D printing, and additive manufacturing, are going to all remain critical, in demand skills for manufacturers in the future. One career analyzed, industrial machinery maintenance technicians, comprised over 270,000 employees in manufacturing in 2022 and these roles could grow as much as 16% by 2032.
Learn more how to address these gaps: The Manufacturing Institute’s training program, FAME – Federation of Advanced Manufacturing Education, provides individuals with an opportunity to obtain training and education while receiving on the job training with real world work experience while getting paid. Participants earn a FAME Advanced Maintenance Technician certificate as well as an Associates degree, all while potentially graduating debt free. Participating manufacturers benefit by helping train the high skilled technicians to operate in modern manufacturing. Founded by Toyota in 2010 and led by the MI since 2019, FAME now has over 40 chapters in 16 states and over 450 engaged employers. FAME can be a resource for your company in meeting your workforce needs. To learn more, sign up for a FAME overview session here.
Source: Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute’s Sixth Manufacturing Talent Study
