Manufacturing Talent Partnership: Strengthening the talent pipeline

In 2018, M7 and MMAC worked with ManpowerGroup on a statistical model to forecast employment trends in our region. This model shows us that the manufacturing talent shortage is here already – and that demographics and economic expansion will combine to make this problem even more urgent in the future. Existing Milwaukee Region companies are expanding, while several new firms are entering our market. And while the age demographics of our region’s workforce remain relatively stable for now, that will change. Beginning in 2021, more workers will age out of our workforce than will enter the workforce. While the need for skilled talent is great across all sectors, it is most acute in manufacturing. The workforce gap between open positions and employees available to fill them in our region is projected at 7 percent by 2021, but increases to 44 percent in the manufacturing sector.

MMAC and M7 leaders presented the ManpowerGroup statistical model to a group of more than 30 Milwaukee Region manufacturing CEOs in November 2018.

At that meeting, there was unanimous agreement that we must act. While manufacturers should and will continue to compete with one another, there are many ways they can all work together to grow the pool of available workers.

MMAC and M7 began regularly convening groups of the chief human resources officers from manufacturers throughout our region to develop solutions through the framework of design thinking principles. To guide our efforts, we’ve divided potential sources for new manufacturing talent into four pools:

o Education pipeline: Far too many students drop out of high school. Could they be enticed to stay if they see a future in manufacturing? For those who do graduate high school, are they aware of the employment possibilities in manufacturing, and do they see those possibilities as attractive? And what about the well-paying manufacturing careers that await graduates from a technical college or four-year university?

o Current workforce: Workers in our region who already are employed in manufacturing, or who are employed in other industries throughout our region and might be willing to change careers. Current manufacturing employees can advance their careers and fill higher-level openings by learning new skills. Employees in other industries must be made aware of opportunities in manufacturing, and those who are willing to switch careers will require training.

o Untapped: Even amid near-record lows for unemployment in our region, there are many people on the sidelines – enough, in fact, to fill a large percentage of projected openings. Members of these populations may need social services or other accommodations to reach their full potential.

o Out of market: The Milwaukee Region is an outstanding place to live, with forward-thinking companies that have rewarding jobs to fill. How can we attract talented workers from outside our region?

The first project spinning out of the Manufacturing Talent Roundtable is in the education pipeline pool: CareerX, a year-long series of career experiences that will connect high school students, parents and teachers with manufacturers to increase awareness of high Participating manufacturers will host educators and students to learn about their companies, and match students in partner schools to applied work experiences including internships, youth apprenticeships, summer employment or

In the first-year pilot program launching this fall, CareerX is designed to reach 30 educators, 540 students and 810 parents or guardians. The program is designed to scale up and include additional companies and schools in the future. p

Potential sources for new manufacturing workforce participants

Current Workforce

Develop your talent through training to help them adapt their skills to new trends and technologies.

Education Pipeline

Connect with students to engage them in career-based learning experiences from company tours to apprenticeships.

Untapped Potential

Work with non-traditional populations, including high school dropouts and formerly incarcerated, to fill entry level positions.

Out of Market

Promote and market your company, your jobs and our quality of life to talented workers outside the region.

Regional initiatives focused on specific talent needs

TEALS HIGH SCHOOL COMPUTER SCIENCE TEACHING

Microsoft Philanthropies TEALS (Technology Education and Literacy in Schools) helps high schools throughout the U.S. build and grow sustainable computer science programs. Supported locally by the MMAC, TEALS pairs trained computer science professionals from across the technology industry with classroom teachers to team-teach computer science. TEALS came to Wisconsin in early 2016, with 34 high schools in the state now receiving support for their computer science courses.

THE HIGHER EDUCATION REGIONAL ALLIANCE

The Higher Education Regional Alliance (HERA) was recently formed to significantly reduce skills and talent gaps in southeastern Wisconsin by increasing the employment rates and number of post-secondary graduates in the region. A total of 18 higher education institutions — representing more than 96 percent of postsecondary students in the region — are committed to HERA, with strategies centered on three key outcomes: raise the region's college completion rate; increase program innovation, growth and alignment with demand; and better connect employers with the talent coming out of the colleges.

FAB WISCONSIN TALENT OUTREACH PROGRAM

Food and Beverage (FaB) Wisconsin, an industry network for food, beverage, ingredient, equipment and packaging makers that is supported by the M7, has launched the FaB Talent Outreach Program (TOP) Initiative, a new project designed to promote talent outreach and development in the food and beverage manufacturing industry.

THE WATER COUNCIL TALENT INITIATIVE

The Water Council launched its talent efforts to introduce university-level students to career opportunities within the professional water sector, connecting talent and Water Council members for internships and hiring, as well as establishing several student chapters of the Water Council at the UW-Milwaukee, UW-Whitewater, Marquette University and the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

MIDWEST ENERGY RESEARCH CONSORTIUM (M-WERC) TALENT PROGRAM

M-WERC is developing the talent needed to meet the rapidly-growing demand for skilled labor in the Energy, Power, and Controls (EPC) sector. M-WERC is driving training efforts by partnering with organizations like Innovative Educational Solutions Institute, which is training workers on electronic assembly and testing, CNC machining and mechanical assembly.

BUILDING OCCUPATIONAL SKILLS FOR SUCCESS (BOSS)

The Building Occupational Skills for Success (BOSS) program, in coordination with the Milwaukee Development Corp. (MDC), the operating arm of the M7, and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, is an initiative to help high school students learn about entrepreneurship and develop business skills through a real-world, project-based curriculum that brings together stakeholders from industry, government, education, and local communities. p