Why Automation Can Help in the Worker Shortage
- Post By : Zeta Group Engineering
- November 12, 2021
- No Comments on Why Automation Can Help in the Worker Shortage
It’s no surprise that almost every business is looking for workers right now.
Many are looking into various hiring and retention tactics to help increase their increase their employee count.
Thankfully for the manufacturing industry, there is a solution that doesn’t involve the headache and high costs of hiring campaigns. Automation.
Facts We Know About the Worker Shortage
Baby Boomers are Coming to Retirement Age
A large percent of manufacturing industry workers is made up of older Americans who are now reaching the age where they may be considering retirement.
The pandemic may have sped up that process for a lot of these people.
The average rate of retirement amongst people who are 55 and older before the pandemic was around 2.6%. Since the pandemic has started, that rate has increased to 3.3%.
In these past few years there were at least 500,000 more retirements than expected based on pre-pandemic trends.
The Worker Pool is Shrinking
A portion of the shrinking worker pool is associated with these baby boomer retirements, but the larger problem comes from the fact that there aren’t enough people to fill those spaces left.
The generation that is retiring currently is much larger than those that are following it.
This difference in generational volume is adding to many of the gaps that we are seeing.
How Automation Can Help
By implementing automation in manufacturing, the burden of the worker shortages can be lightened.
Filling the holes that are left open with automation allows production to continue even when worker numbers decline.
Additionally, by automating the jobs that are dirty, dull, and dangerous companies can focus on recruiting and retaining workers in more fulfilling jobs.
Rather than trying to fill a job that no one wants, efforts can be focused on showcasing safer and better jobs within the company.
Zeta Group Engineering is a robotic integrator and conveyor manufacturer based in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Check out our other blogs!
