150: When Will We Actually Close the Skills Gap? Featuring Ann Wyatt

Manufacturing professionals have been talking about the skills gap for a long time now – but when will it finally close? While we don’t have a crystal ball on Manufacturing Happy Hour, we have a guest who comes close.

Ann Wyatt, President and Agency Owner of Ann Wyatt Recruiting joins the show to share some great insights, advice, and predictions for the future of the industry. Ann’s a long-time listener of the show and has been part of the Manufacturing Happy Hour community for a while now. So, this conversation is long overdue!

Ann dives into the skills shortage problem, what manufacturers can do to compete for talent, how to remove friction from the recruitment process, and why we need to rethink how we advertise jobs. She also explains why companies need to do more brand awareness and not just rely on job boards to find talent.

Aside from recruitment and the skills gap problem, we also have some great chats about karaoke, punk rock, and glass blowing. So tune in for a very informative and varied conversation this week!

In this episode, find out:

• How manufacturing skill needs have evolved
• Why we need to look at transferable skills from other industries
• Why job boards alone won’t attract top talent
• How to reduce friction in the recruitment process
• Why company branding is key for advertising roles
• How manufacturing companies can attract more talent
• Predictions for the industry in 2-5 years
• Why Industry 4.0 is important for closing the skills gap
• How to retain great talent

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!

Tweetable Quotes:

• “Making sure that you have a short hiring process right now is super imperative.”
• “We were looking at industrial maintenance individuals from a mechanical perspective. Now we are looking at them from a mechatronics perspective.”
• “The candidate experience doesn't stop once you go through the onboarding process. I think that you've got to really commit yourself to your culture on a daily basis.”

Links & mentions:

• Ann Wyatt Recruiting, providing manufacturing clients with the candidates they need
• COVID-1985, a great parody cover of Bowling For Soup’s 1985 that your host wrote and recorded in 2020
• Lipz Lounge, karaoke bar located in Straight to Ale in Huntsville, AL’s Campus 805

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.