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Maintaining a competent, industrious and invested workforce will be a growing challenge amongst Engineer To Order manufacturers in the coming years.

Currently, many of these organizations are staffed by employees who are aging and planning on leaving their jobs. As the current work force begins retiring, a new wave of workers will be needed to replace those currently on the job.

This is no small number either. According to the recent Thomasnet Industry Market Barometer of trends affecting the manufacturing sector, more than 80 percent of this sector’s workforce consists of baby boomers aged 45 to 65, with 49 percent of these individuals older than 55. Even though the vast majority of these workers will be retiring within the next 10 years, 65 percent of manufacturers have no plans to replace these highly skilled and experienced employees.

Tapping into the next generation

As noted in the source, millennials – those born between 1982 and 2000 – will compose approximately 75 percent of the workforce by 2025. Engineer To Order manufacturers cannot afford to miss out on the opportunity to attract these workers now, so that in the next 10 years, these individuals will have the necessary on-the-job experience to truly help the company succeed.

Unfortunately, many manufacturers have not picked up this shifting trend. Sixty-two percent of manufacturers said millennials only make up a tiny portion of their overall workforce, while 81 percent have no plans in place to attract this growing portion of the workforce demographic.

Further, not only are fewer millennials entering the manufacturing sector, but at the same time, many executives do not even want this generation entering into their ranks. According to the survey, 43 percent of manufacturing company executives reported that they did not think millennials had the work ethic or discipline to succeed in this industry.

Whether this proves to be true or not, the simple fact remains that the labor pool is undergoing a dramatic transformation and unless manufacturers attract this sizeable portion of the workforce, they will soon find themselves understaffed and outmanned. Fortunately, there are several ways that manufacturers can go about attracting the workers of the future, including the following:

Implement apprenticeship programs

Manufacturing companies, especially those that build Engineer To Order products, have extremely complex processes that rely heavily on research and development and which require specialized training. Although millennials are graduating college are higher rates than their predecessors, many might not have the training necessary to compete for this skilled positions.

Without providing a route from school to the company, many manufacturers can miss out on attracting this crucial component of tomorrow’s workforce. By implementing an inclusive apprenticeship program, Engineer To Order manufacturers can get first shot at the best and the brightest this generation offers, ensuring they retain their competitive edge for the next decade and beyond.

Create an innovative culture

Whereas previous generations might have been content to clock in, do what they’re told and then clock out, millennials prefer to approach problems creatively. As noted in SMC Business Councils, while this generation might need support, encouragement and regular feedback to stay on track, they will ultimately thrive in an environment that allows them to solve problems from their unique perspectives. Instead of insisting on maintaining a regimented and inflexible work environment, manufacturers must be willing to let millennials innovate and implement outside-the-box solutions. By creating a company culture that allows for a more creative and innovative work environment, manufacturers can ultimately reap benefits. According to Fortune magazine, companies that hired more millennials and included more workplace innovation ultimately reported a higher profit.

Utilize the best tools

Millennials joining the workforce expect their companies to be up to date with current trends, and this increasingly means incorporating the technological tools available. As a generation of individuals who are experienced with using digital tools to optimize their daily lives – from online banking to ordering food on the Internet to using a smartphone for traveling – those companies that continue to use manual or tedious systems such as spreadsheets for their processes will find that millennials are not interested in performing work in this manner.

As noted in Manufacturing.net, millennials view technological integration in the workplace as a must. This is the first generation that has truly mastered the use of digital and technological tools and they expect these same sort of tools in the workplace.

Total ETO, a configurable ERP system for Engineer To Order manufacturers, provides this technological solution for millennials. Using this intuitive ERP system, Engineer To Order companies can integrate the platform with their CAD packages and accounting systems, eliminating spreadsheets and tedious data manipulation. The software syncs up purchases, tracks receipts of goods, payable invoices and automates everything from sales to shipping.

Not only does Total ETO streamline and automate the workflow for engineer-to-order manufacturers, it’s also extremely affordable for small- and mid-sized enterprises. Plus, with its unique configurable options, it will easily match the way your company naturally does business, alleviating the need for workers to learn a complex new system while greatly reducing the downtime typically associated with implementing many of the more complex ERP systems.

By utilizing this system, engineer-to-order manufacturers can attract top talent to their company instead of having to worry that competitors with faster systems will snatch up these individuals. With this intuitive software, companies can retain their competitive edge, remain industry leaders or even bump themselves ahead of their peers.

Watch our Total ETO product tour or request a demo today.