How the Skills Shortage Could Affect Your Manufacturing Business

How the Skills Shortage Could Affect Your Manufacturing Business

With every passing day, technology is at its rise and the world keeps modernizing. Moreover, the competition is increasing day by day keeping the fact in mind that the percentage of skills is decreasing. This does not have a pleasing effect on your manufacturing business.

 

Lack of skill can be a huge issue as it can affect the company directly as it puts the current workers in your company into difficulties. They are required to do extra work which may also include working extra hours some of the time.

 

As the skill gap is increasing day by day, it is having devastating effects in the manufacturing sector causing stagnation in idea development. There is a lot to ponder about this market and if you don’t know much about it then there is nothing to worry about, this article has got you covered. Skills shortage is quite a challenge for manufacturers who are looking to excel in a competitive market. This article will show you how the skills shortage could affect your manufacturing business and at the end, what manufacturers should do to overcome this challenge.

 

Skills shortage causes overtime hours for limited skilled workers

One of the main rules of working in a company or handling a business is that if the demand for an individual increase then this means that there is a need for overtime hours. Due to skills shortage manufactures are required to increase their production rate and be efficient following the time deadlines. This can sometimes cause stress and tension amongst the limited skilled workers.

 

Skills shortage causes a shortage of qualified applicants

Due to the shortage of skills workers, manufacturing companies struggle to find the qualified candidate for their company. They are shortlisting but they still struggle as the individuals applying are not that much qualified due to lack of necessary skills. For this reason, the business itself struggles to perform up to the mark if they are unable to find and hire the right person for the job.

 

Skills shortage causing a higher wage bill

Manufacturers tend to compete for skilled workers. And because of the shortage in skilled labour, the decent candidates always seek for higher wages and other allowance when compared to other workers. They take full advantage of the situation as they know their own worth and the importance of the skill they possess. Companies now have to strike a balance with product price with the competitor’s price in mind. They would not want to be outpriced in the market.

 

Skills shortage affects capacity and quality of work

When there is a shortage of skilled manpower, production suffers thereby affecting manufacturers to meet up with market demands. This could also force companies to stop taking new orders thereby affecting the company’s profit. When this happens, the company can only rely on available workers. The whole load comes on the already existing workers who will naturally be worn out due to being overstretched. They are then required to put in more effort and are to meet up with deadlines. This eventually affects the quality of work and sometimes causes waste of raw materials as mistakes are bound to happen.

 

Fixing the challenge

To fix some of these challenges mentioned above, manufacturers are encouraged to continue retraining their staff on new technologies, employ new staff and train them, allowing them time to grow on the job, offer flexible working conditions to avoid staff worn-out. They can also partner with training institutions to help in training their workforce with the necessary skills required for optimum production.

Francis Nwokike

Francis Nwokike is the Founder and Chief Editor of The Total Entrepreneurs. A Social Entrepreneur and experienced Disaster Manager. He loves researching and discussing business trends and providing startups with valuable insights into running a profitable business. He created TTE to share ideas and tips to help entrepreneurs run and grow their businesses.