NewsDesk Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnerships, Openings, Expansions, Announcements Skills Gap to Drive Manufacturing Power Shift T
he shortage of high-skilled workers will continue driving a shift in manufacturing power toward Asia, unless US policy makers adopt new approaches to boost competi- tiveness, two separate manufacturing reports suggest. The “2013 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index” (http://tinyurl.com/2013gmci) found that the top indicator of a country’s competitiveness was the supply of talented workers. That indicator was followed by a coun- try’s trade, financial and tax system, and then by the cost of labor and materials, according to the GMCI, which was released on Nov. 16 by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited’s Global Manufacturing Industry Group and the US Council on Competitiveness.
“Nothing was more important to CEOs than the quality, availability and productivity of a nation’s workforce,” said Craig Giffi, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and consumer and industrial products industry leader, who co-authored the report and lead the research team.
The index is based on an in-depth analysis of survey re- sponses from more than 550 CEOs and other senior leaders at global manufacturing companies and predicts that manu- facturing stalwarts such as the US, Germany and Japan will be challenged to maintain their competitive edge against emerging nations, such as China, India and Brazil, over the next five years. The Index lists the US as the world’s third most-competitive manufacturing nation, but predicts it will rank fifth five years from now. Separately, “Manufactur- ing the Future: The Next Era of Global Growth and Innova- tion” (http://tinyurl.com/mck- inseymfg), a major report from the McKinsey Global Institute, projects “a potential shortage of more than 40 million high-skill workers” globally by 2020, which will inevitably help de- termine how the fast-changing manufacturing sector will shake out longer term.
“Manufacturers have to fight hard to win the war for talent—everything from experts in big data, to executives with deep understanding of emerg- ing markets to skilled produc- tion workers. In many places, manufacturers will need to get more involved in building a talent pipeline.”