TRAINING P
rofessionals in manufacturing today are not only focused on meeting increasing demands on their businesses as a result of steady sector growth, they are also working to overcome one of the biggest challenges faced: the skills shortage. Recent research across FMs in manufacturing from industrial paint and repair specialist, Watco, found that almost half (48 per cent) worry there is a skills shortage in the sector. Skills shortages have developed as a result of multiple factors, e.g. a lack of time and high workloads, minimal budget availability, changing regulations and experts who spent their career in the industry reaching retirement age.
The challenge is reducing engagement and job satisfaction, overstretching more qualified team members and risking inaccurate or poor-quality work when untrained team members are trying to complete urgent tasks without proper training and knowledge. The research also revealed that a quarter of employees did not have a good working knowledge of industry legislations. However, a 2024 study from The Manufacturer and Barclays showed that 91 per cent of manufacturers are taking on more responsibility to train their workforces due to the scarcity of skilled labour. So, what can be done to tackle the skills shortage, and reduce the negative impact on FM workloads in the meantime?
USE FREE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT LESS EXPERIENCED TEAM MEMBERS To ensure that regular tasks are completed by established and newer team members consistently, use downloadable resources to guide the task’s actions. For example, for site inspections which should be completed regularly and divided between team members to ensure a balanced workload, a checklist is a really helpful tool. Following a document ensures that everybody is spotting and recording the correct evidence e.g. the type of damage visible and its size. With the support of resource and applications guides, straightforward repairs can be completed by all members of the team, regardless of experience. This can have a big impact on freeing up FM workloads for other urgent priorities. Watco’s free eBook library is a great place to look for building up knowledge of key tasks such as repair, maintenance and health and safety best practice. Application videos, such as the ‘how to’ videos on Watco’s product pages, are a useful “watch and learn” resource providing a step-by- step guide to the preparation and application stages of a repair. For example, a less-experienced team member can get up to speed with repairing holes in concrete floors by watching the how to video on the Watco Concrex Carbon Fibre product page, and being supervised on the first attempt.
EMBRACE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT According to Watco’s research, 48 per cent do not know where to start when it comes to looking
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MANAGING THE SKILLS SHORTAGE CHALLENGE IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR
for professional development courses, so guidance is needed to make sure that people know where to look to upskill themselves.
This comes from a proactive management of teams, placing staff on relevant CPD courses, which will empower them to train the wider team on what they’ve learned e.g. compliance with regulatory updates. Reskilling through mentoring and rotational programs, where employees move between roles, aids in the development of well- rounded skills too, which ease the burden on managers to fill skills gaps with new recruits.
USE LONG LASTING PRODUCTS TO RELIEVE PRESSURE
Repair jobs are just one of the responsibilities on an FM’s list in the manufacturing sector. However, in a busy facility they can quickly mount up and make workloads unachievable when they cannot be delegated to the team.
FMs should aim to tackle surface damage when it is first spotted. Although this puts more pressure on workloads in the short term, it creates opportunities for less experienced team members to carry out smaller, often simpler repairs with a level of supervision – growing their confidence. For example, using a pourable mortar such as Watco’s Flowpatch to fill a small hole in a concrete floor before it deteriorates into something larger, and more expensive to repair. Using durable, industrial-strength products for facility repairs helps to relieve the pressure of frequent repair jobs in the long term too because the solutions are designed to resistant against heavy traffic or chemical spills etc. Getting the team familiar with common repairs and durable, high-quality products will ensure a strong, long-term repair with minimal input from busy FMs in the future.
Watco
www.watco.co.uk
Spring 2025 UKManufacturing
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