Many factory managers claim they're already suffering from a skills shortage. Sixty-seven percent of respondents reported a moderate to severe shortage of available qualified workers in a survey last year by Deloitte Consulting for the Manufacturing Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers.
BCG senior partner Harold Sirkin, co-author of the research, says manufacturers could solve most of their problems finding good people by offering higher pay and training new hires. He says there's no reason that a skills shortage need derail the "manufacturing renaissance" BCG has been forecasting. The consulting group predicts that rising U.S. exports and "reshoring" could create 2.5 million to 5 million U.S. jobs in manufacturing and related services by decade's end.
