INDUSTRY
BRIEF FOR
MANUFACTURING
INDUSTRY
Many of the problems leading to this shortage are systemic and
outside the control of manufacturers for the most part.
However, manufacturers can alleviate some of the problem by
using data science to guide them in making the optimal decisions
that increase sales and profits without requiring significant
increases in headcount.
Severe Skilled
Labor Shortages
Intense Global Competition
An HBR article cites that nearly 100 million startups are created worldwide each year.
5
Technology is enabling new entrants
to get into virtually any industry and disrupt it with faster cheaper, and better ways to sell and purchase products.
3
According to the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness index, China is now holding the top spot, with
the US coming in second. A big difference is in the utilization of high tech — Internet of Things (IoT),
Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) — in building products that are smart and reduce
total cost of ownership.
6
The manufacturing industry as a whole —
but especially those in the mid- to high-
tech manufacturing — are experiencing
a shortage of skilled workers.
Some 2.4 million manufacturing jobs are
expected to go unfilled through 2028,
with a potential economic impact of
$2.5 trillion. Today, nearly 60% of skilled
production jobs are unfilled.
4
An MIT Sloan management review article states that it is increasingly
becoming easier for new companies in China and elsewhere to
quickly close the technological gap with US-based tech companies.
6
The article cites three reasons:
1) Blatant stealing of intellectual property
2) US companies pressured by foreign governments to share
technology as the price to pay for doing business there
3) The normal knowledge spillover as employees of multi-nationals
join local companies in their native countries
