Skills Gap! Skills Gap! Skills Gap!

You keep hearing this phrase over and over as if you aren’t feeling it day in and day out. By 2028, the current skills gap is supposed to cost the industry $454 billion dollars. In the past few years you have been over informed about the fact that there is going to be a skills gap. Well we are here, and you are struggling to find qualified people to fill the important roles that keep the ball rolling. What does that mean for your facility? Is there any relief to be had? Are we going to have to build our own schools to keep a flow of qualified employees?!?

You are probably feeling stress everyday trying to find employees that are ready to take on the tasks that you throw their way. As technology takes over, the years of a turn key work force are diminishing. This leaves management in a constant struggle to educate or find people to run the necessary equipment for their facility to function. So where is the solution?

Say it with me… in-house training!

So annoying right?! Imagine all those hours that will take management off the floor. They will have to pull employees kicking and screaming through the steps necessary for them to safely and accurately perform their job duties. You may even have to create a whole management team dedicated to only training. That can’t be the answer can it? Nope, that’s not what I am referring to.

You have these “kids” coming in that are not trained to take on the technology that has taken over the industries. With people coming in that knew how to run a smart phone at four years old, you would think that they would get it! The thing is it isn’t in their capability to learn, it is in the way that you are teaching them. The employees that are being trained aren’t retaining the information and potential employees are not interested in sitting in orientation for hours staring at a projector on the wall. They are just trying to stay awake!

For a world that now revolves around technology and automation, the urge to interact isn’t getting smaller! It is increasing. These are simple gaps that are costing companies! You are training employees in a language that they don’t speak. You have got to get on their level; you have to meet them where they are at. In house training doesn’t have to be painful.

So, where are they? Where are you supposed to be meeting them? The answer is simple. On the platforms that they are used to learning in. You need to use technology to teach them. Software is the answer.

Think about it. Where do these new employees usually get important information that they retain? Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, Online Education, eBooks, Audible, among many more avenues! They aren’t using newspapers, encyclopedias, or physical books. So, why would you expect them to sit through training classes? Parents and schools have taught them to be independent thinkers and independent learners. Now you get to reap the benefits of that!

Finding a software solution with an excellent training module is essential. In a world of over stimulation, they need to interact independently and see tangible progress while they are learning and working. They crave continuous learning, and it isn’t feasible to deploy a management team once a month to feed that craving. In alignment with a training solution, choosing a software solution that automates your training and processes into a workflow is also essential. To teach these employees and close that skills gap in a cost-efficient way, you need to adapt to their way of thinking and allow them to track their progress. This type of engagement keeps management informed, closes the skills gap, and empowers employees.