Workforce Development and Training Tips for Manufacturers

Manufacturing today is fast-paced and rapidly expanding due to increasing demand and technological advancements. Employees must receive proper training to keep up with escalating demands. Many employees come to the job with a specific skill-set but need additional training to keep pace with the ever-changing manufacturing landscape. They need to develop new skills to stay viable in the workforce

Workforce development is so much more than providing a few training sessions each year to meet minimum requirements. It is a human resource strategy focusing on people rather than businesses. The major underlying assumption of workforce development is your employees are the most important assets in your business. Without them production comes to a halt.

Benefits of Workforce Development

Workforce development is important for a variety of reasons. The following list provides insight to the most common ones:

1. Builds loyalty, which reduces high turnover rates.
2. Increases employee engagement.
3. Teaches new skills creating confident and knowledgeable employees
4. Creates awareness of the latest industrial advances.
5. Upgrades the existing knowledge base of employees.
6. Enables higher employee performance
7. Supports personal growth.
8. Prepares employees for potentially adverse conditions.
9. Creates a culture of learning and instills a feeling of pride.
10. Creates a sense of community and camaraderie among employees.
11. Helps employees shape the future direction of their own careers.
12. Employees develop a greater sense of self-awareness and can identify areas for self-improvement.

Tips for Implementation

A good program requires planning, a strategic approach and consistency. It cannot be done only when time and circumstance allows. Training should be a process and not a one-time event. An ongoing program must demonstrate and reiterate desired skills through regular training and consistent follow-up. Daily operations consume the attention of all employees but long-term training activities provide a greater return by focusing on the needs of the future. Investing time and energy into the entire workforce instills a sense of employee dedication.

Several alternatives can provide great training and development programs. The right choice depends on the size of your company’s training budget and available resources. Employees and supervisors feeling nurtured and supported will work harder meeting goals and deadlines than employees feeling left behind.

Training through Continuous Improvement

NJMEP offers a variety of workforce development programs. Many of them come in the form of Lean and Continuous Improvement related services. For more information, call 973-998-9801

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