is your association doing enough to close the skills gap? national leadership & local action as...
TRANSCRIPT
Jennifer McNelly, President, Manufacturing Institute
David DeLong, David DeLong & Associates
Moderated by Steve Yurek, President and CEO,
Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute
Is Your Association Doing Enough to
Close the Skills Gap?
National Leadership & Local Action
As a Blueprint for Effective Collaboration
Panel Discussion:
Jennifer McNelly, President
The Manufacturing Institute
David DeLong, Author
Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce
© D.W. DeLong 2013
3
What is the “Skills Gap”?
• ASTD: “...a significant gap between an organization’s
current capabilities & the skills it needs to achieve it’s
goals.”
• Deloitte/MI study: “...the gap between talent that
manufacturers need to keep growing their business
and what they can actually find.”
© D.W. DeLong 2013
4
“Skills Gap”
...it’s more complicated than that!
• Company size defines scope of gap & resources to fix
• Geographic location
--rural vs. urban manufacturing sites
--proximity to training resources, e.g. community colleges
--competition from other employers, e.g. energy industry
• Types of roles
--skilled machinists & welders vs. chemists & quality engineers
• Types of skills needed
--generic, soft (e.g. communication, problem solving)
--specialized, technical, unique (e.g. pump design)
© D.W. DeLong 2013
5
“Skills Gaps”
...more ways they differ!
• Skills gap impacts: single company vs. value chain
--e.g. HVACR needs 85K technicians to deliver products
• Length & cost of training to fill role
--months vs. several years
--standardized certification vs. highly-customized training
© D.W. DeLong 2013
6
What are CMA Members Looking for
To Close the Skills Gap?
• Increase members’ sharing of solution “success stories”
• Seeking tactics/best practices to roll out
--How to communicate with schools & parents re mftring’s image
--Help members engage more effectively with community colleges
--How to create apprentice programs
• Leverage NAM programs
--e.g. adapt Skills Certification Program
• Think about more systemic solutions
--Get community college systems to coordinate
STEM-related curricula across state lines
• “Not my Association’s problem.”
© D.W. DeLong 2013
7
Some “Relevant” Questions About the
Skills Gap to Increase Competitiveness
• Are critical SG’s emerging among our members’
customers or in the industry’s value chain?
• Do we know how much our members care about the
skills gap? What specific gaps (SG) do they have?
• How can our association provide short cuts to address SG?
• Does my staff have the skills needed to transfer knowledge
across generations to members?
• How are competitor associations addressing
SGs? Is there value integrating SG efforts with
competitors?
• Are technology changes among members,
customers, or regulators exacerbating impact
of skills gaps?