Is there really a skills shortage?

The skills shortage is a very real problem – It is thought that 85 million jobs will be unfilled by 2030 because of a lack of skilled workers, particularly among digital, engineering, and high-tech roles4. 3DXEdu provides a solution for this problem. The platform offers a program designed to upskill and reskill workers to boost employability and accelerate transformation across manufacturing industries. These relevant skills include mechatronics, data science and systems engineering.

What is the most in-demand skill right now?

Research shows that in the EU, one-third of workers lack basic digital skills. This means that demand is growing for workers trained in fields such as CAD, robotics, mechanical engineering as well as digital capabilities like data science and AI. But soft skills should not be ignored either.

What are some examples of soft skills?

Soft skills will also be needed, particularly those around communication, collaboration, leadership, project management, critical thinking, and problem solving. Our experts are constantly assessing the skills considered pivotal to the future and accelerated transformation of Manufacturing, Infrastructure & Cities, and Life Sciences & Healthcare

The Impact of Skills Shortage on Global Manufacturing

Manufacturing > Managing Skills And Talents > Dassault Systèmes®

Are you doing what it takes to attract, retain, and develop the right talent?

What is the skills shortage?

We’re in the middle of a global talent shortage. According to data from consultancy McKinsey, a massive 87% of businesses report that they are either facing a skills shortage or expect to do so in the next five years.

Manufacturing > 87% businesses facing skills shortage > Dassault Systèmes®

Manufacturing industries in particular are struggling to make themselves seem attractive to the next generation compared to high-paying, glamorous roles in technology. For many mature economies, such as Japan and Germany, aging populations are making the situation ever more pressing. Factors too like the COVID-19 pandemic and the great resignation play a significant role.

It all adds up to a potential crisis for manufacturers. “Around 85 million jobs could go unfilled because of continuous trends of demography, a lack of attractiveness and the skills gap,” says Valerie Ferret, Vice President of 3DEXPERIENCE® EDU at Dassault Systèmes.

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What is the impact of the skills shortage on businesses?

Manufacturing > Skill gaps cost US2.5$ trillon to US economy > Dassault Systèmes®

As a matter of simple arithmetic, the consequences of the skills gap are clear. The fewer manufacturing workers that come into industries, the less productive those industries will be. Deloitte estimates that the skills gap could cost the United States alone US$2.5 trillion over the next decade.

And the global skills gap isn’t just about struggling to attract new talent. When employees move on, businesses don’t just lose a pair of hands. They lose a lifetime of experience, manufacturing skills, and operational knowledge.

“Without the right people who are empowered with the right knowledge and know-how, and equipped with the necessary factory worker skills, you have productivity issues, and you have quality issues,” says Ferret. “Manufacturers obviously know this well. The next step is figuring out what to do about this skills crisis.”

How can businesses promote talent attraction and retention?

To address the skills shortage, manufacturing companies must focus on three key areas:

1. Talent attraction: Competing harder for new workers
2. Talent retention: Keeping and developing manufacturing employees
3. Knowledge & know-how preservation: Finding ways to retain knowledge as skilled workers move on

Technology is one answer. Empowering manufacturers to capitalize and store knowledge and know-how, creating the kind of tech-enabled roles that are attractive to contemporary workforces. However, it must be used to enhance rather than simply replace.

“The company who will be the most competitive in the future is not the one that will automate the most of their processes and activitues, but the one that will empower their workforce with knowledge and know-how,” says Ferret.

An example of this in action is Australian carbon fiber component manufacturer Quickstep. Despite the cutting-edge focus of their business, most of their engineering activities and workflows were either paper-based or database documents that needed to be constantly updated. By employing a platform-based approach, Quickstep was able to improve knowledge management across the business by making it both accessible and contextual.

“The platform is helping us document better what we do and give access to all our employees on lessons learned and knowledge generated,” says Kieren Dale, Production Engineering Lead, Quickstep. “It means they can work in a more informed way.”

As Ferret points out: The technology platforms that drive value will be ones that allow for more collaboration and more decision-making power for people. This is key to retaining, developing and attracting talent.

Technology platforms allow more collaboration and more decision-making power, and this is key to retaining, developing and empowering talent.

Valerie Ferret
Vice President, 3DEXPERIENCE® EDU, Dassault Systèmes

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