April 2017
How Do We Find Talent
for Manufacturing Jobs?
By Brian Town • Michigan Creative
Over the next decade, 3.5 million
manufacturing jobs will be needed
and two million of those are expected
to go unfilled due to manufacturer’s
inability to find talent.
Conversely, 40 percent of students
who go to college never graduate and
80 percent change their major at least
once, proving that a traditional degree
path just isn’t for everyone.
Why do manufacturers fail to capture
those students before they go to college?
High schoolers don’t know about
you or really what the manufacturing
industry is like now. They still think
dirty, dark, and dangerous, like when
their grandparents told them stories
about working in a factory. How
many times have you heard, ‘we drive
by here all the time and had no idea
what you did’? Quite often I imagine.
Is anyone telling the manufacturing
story? Educators, parents, employees,
politicians, TV shows, social media,
the media; they all are telling the
manufacturing story, but is it being
told in a way that will speak to high
schoolers (or even younger children!)
to attract them to the industry at a
young age?
You have to try something
different. Separate yourself from the
thousands of other companies
clamoring for qualified applicants
and interested young students.
How can you do that?
Video.
Why video?
Video allows you to tell your story,
your way. With infinite selections of
the type of video — culture videos, why
work here talent attraction video, process
videos, branding videos, etc. — video
can be used for many areas of your
business, but more specifically for talent
attraction and retention. Video can be
a great way to make someone feel like
they know you before they’ve meet
you, to introduce yourself without
needing an introduction, and to reach
the unreachable.
Where can you use video? Website,
social media, career fairs, recruiters,
digital advertising, interviews, sales,
onboarding, internal training, just to
name a few. Produce your short videos
and then get them out there so the
young talent you want to attract may
just walk through your door.
6
Brian Town is CEO for Michigan
Creative. He can be reached at
517-899-4533 or brian@
michigancreative.com.
MiMfg Magazine
19
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