Blueprint for building a skilled workforce

John M. Rauschenberger, Manager of Personnel Research and Development, Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, MI -- Plant Engineering, 8/1/2001

Manufacturing has changed. Jobs require more skill, training, and experience, especially in the use of technology. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 1950, 60% of manufacturing jobs were unskilled; today, only 30% are unskilled; by 2005, the number is expected to shrink to 15%.

In addition, retirement-eligible workers are leaving manufacturing jobs in large numbers. A study by the University of Michigan reports that the auto industry alone needs to find 250,000 workers by 2005 to replace retirees.

According to a recent U.S. Census Bureau survey, more than half of the responding companies cited the "need for better education and training" as one of the most significant barriers to the adoption of new technologies. And no wonder. The American Management Association reports that in 1999, almost 42% of manufacturing job applicants lacked the basic reading, writing, and math skills needed to do the jobs they were applying for.

Because ensuring the existence of a skilled workforce in the 21^st Century is perhaps the greatest challenge facing manufacturing today, the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) was formed in 1997 to address the challenge. MSSC brought together leaders representing companies, workers, educators, and related organizations to create a blueprint for a new skills pipeline in manufacturing. Since it is a unique partnership among education, industry, and labor, MSSC has been able to provide leadership in the creation of an industrywide skill standards system.

In May 2001, the MSSC released "A Blueprint for Workforce Excellence," a set of skill standards created to address the skills problem. More than 3800 frontline workers, 700 companies, 300 experts, and 30 facilitating organizations have participated in the development of the MSSC skill standards.

The skill standards represent the best practices for high-performance work and define the skills and knowledge required to ensure a skilled, mobile industrial workforce. This includes the research and national validation of the specific job functions in best-practice work sites — the indicators that tell when the job is completed successfully as well as the level of technical knowledge and skills need for the job.

There are three distinct levels of skill standards: core, concentration, and specialized. MSSC has developed standards for six concentration areas and has identified the core skills and knowledge that are common to all six concentrations. The concentration areas are:

• Production
• Health, safety, and environment assurance
• Logistics and inventory control
• Maintenance, installation, and repair
• Production process development
• Quality assurance

The skill standards can be used in many ways:

• As a communications tool among companies, the education community, and current and future workers
• In conjunction with existing training programs and apprenticeships
• To benchmark manufacturing processes to best practices
• To develop job descriptions
• To enable companies to work with line managers, unions, and employees to conduct training needs analyses
• To develop and/or improve training programs
• To work with local schools to develop curricula and programs to prepare students for good manufacturing jobs.

Finally, the new skill standards form the foundation of a complete system that will include assessment and certification programs.