Blue Collar Blues: Recruiting Manufacturing Workers

Manufacturing in America is huge. Over the last 20 years manufacturing output has increased by almost 40 percent, and the annual value of production by U.S. factories has reached a record $2.4 trillion. And the trend continues upward. Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn recently announced plans to build a massive manufacturing plant in Wisconsin that may eventually employ over 13,000 workers. But the company may struggle to find the talent it needs to staff up the facility. It’s estimated that the U.S. will need to fill 3.5 million manufacturing jobs over the next decade, but 2 million of these may remain unfilled due to a skills gap and other factors.