The manufacturing industry is currently facing a workforce crisis that could potentially leave millions of lucrative jobs unfilled in years to come. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reports, there are about 488,000 open manufacturing jobs in the United States. While the number of open jobs has decreased month over month, the number of unfilled manufacturing jobs is projected to continue to rise in the coming years. This trend could have a lasting effect on not only manufacturing in the United States, but also the overall economic growth in our country.

Tuesday, October 30^th was a day of firsts. It was the first time I attended a Penn Foster High School graduation, and it was also the first time I visited a chicken processing plant. Not least of all, it was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Bullock, the first person from Perdue Farms to graduate from Penn Foster High School.

Make no mistake, the skills gap is real. Ask anyone trying to fill jobs in the manufacturing industry. The pace of technological change means that many people misunderstand the skills that are needed, and some who have them don’t see manufacturing as a viable option.

The debate over how to close the skills gap has yielded suggestions ranging from new legislation to hip, millennial-focused PR efforts. Perhaps all of these are needed to create a robust skills force for the future.

Retail isn’t the only place where great customer service skills are essential. Businesses in almost every industry can benefit from helping employees build customer service skills.

Tony Hsieh, Founder and CEO of Zappos put it eloquently when he wrote, “Customer service shouldn’t just be a department, it should be the entire company.” 

When you select a training and education program for your staff, you’re looking for more than ways to upskill employees. You’re looking for a training partner who can help you realize a positive return on investment for your efforts. By using the right learning analytics, you can not only monitor the effectiveness of your training programs, but also improve them over time. A quality training partner will help you by offering valuable learning analytics data.

Apprenticeships have almost reached the status of a buzzword in the discussion over how to close the skills gap. State Senators are introducing bills to make apprenticeships more accessible to high school students. Meanwhile, officials in Maryland are expanding a high school apprenticeship program that started in two counties out to the rest of the state.