Will the Gig-Economy Be the Answer for a Skills Shortage?

Joe Weinlick
Posted by in Manufacturing


A serious skills shortage has had a damaging effect on the manufacturing industry in the United States. Many solutions to this skills shortage have been proposed, including company training programs and more focused higher education programs. Some experts have suggested another potential solution to the manufacturing skills shortage: the gig economy. By outsourcing manufacturing jobs to a virtual community of experienced professionals, manufacturers can quickly and easily get access to the skills they need.

The presence of a skills shortage is well documented. Many manufacturing companies say they can't grow as quickly as they'd like because they can't find the skilled workers they need. During the next decade, experts predict that roughly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will go empty due to the skills shortage. Despite the manufacturing industry's traditional reputation, it has seen technological upgrades in recent years that create skilled positions staffing agencies can't fill.

Thankfully, a new way of working could help to close this skills gap. There's a growing trend of people working in a more flexible way than the traditional 9-to-5 job. In fact, only one in seven new graduates in 2016 said they want to work a traditional job for a large company. In light of this trend, some companies are choosing to structure their employment in a non-traditional way. Instead of having every professional they may need on the payroll, some companies have only a small in-house team tending to core operations, with the rest of the workforce made up of freelancers, contractors and so-called "gig workers."

The gig model of working has been used very effectively by some big-name companies. The best example might be Uber, a service that provides rides to consumers by outsourcing the task to a community of self-employed drivers. The beauty of Uber is that it allows drivers to monetize resources they didn't previously use to make money — their cars, their time and their driving skills — without requiring them to take on full-time jobs at taxi companies. Some experts predict that other platforms could allow people to use their resources in similar ways, helping them to earn money by providing much-needed services to the manufacturing industry without tying them to full-time jobs.

This new, flexible way of working is very useful for people who already have jobs but want to earn some money on the side, individuals just starting out in self-employment and those who can't take a regular job due to family or other responsibilities.

Manufacturers need to change the way they think about their companies' structures and cultures if they want to fill the skills shortage currently holding back the American manufacturing industry. The gig economy could be a possible solution, as it appeals to workers looking for more flexible employment and allows employers easy access to skills.


Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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