The Future of Manufacturing: Opportunities in Skills & Talent Acquisition – Beyond the Paycheque

A lot of our manufacturing clients are saying the same thing: “We’re too busy. We’ve got too many orders”. Which of course, is a ‘happy’ problem and is a testament to our hard work. This leads to another challenge that we constantly come across: hiring and retaining the right talent.

Together, these lead to a different challenge: stunted growth.

The skilled labour shortage is not a new problem. Recruitment and retention of a skilled workforce has long been an issue for UK manufacturers, and certainly intensified most recently by the cost-of-living crisis and wage inflation.

A 2022 Make UK report finds that 36% of vacancies in manufacturing are proving hard-to-fill as the talent pool lacks appropriate skills, qualifications, or experience. The average rate across all industries is 24%. Quite a comparable figure, and the shortage is estimated to cost the UK economy £39bn each year.

On the ground, part of the challenge is an aging workforce, most of whom are approaching retirement or have retired early. Then there comes the image problem too, with many young people seeing roles as low skilled, low paid, and repetitive using heavy machinery. Having worked with manufacturers for over 15 years, we know this isn’t the case and even more so as the industry undertakes a digital transformation.

Skilled workers can’t be plucked from thin air. So, what are manufacturers doing to tackle the skilled labour shortage?

A lot of manufacturers are offering apprenticeships, but studies find that manufacturers are facing several issues with apprentices gaining their apprenticeship certificates. One of the main issues is retaining apprentices due to competition from other employers.

Some manufacturing firms have increased pay or offer financial rewards such as retention bonuses or cost of living support. Others now offer flexible working – where possible.

But it seems the problem persists. A more recent report from Make UK identifies that the skills gap is the most significant factor affecting both their growth prospects and their ability to maintain daily operations.

So, what else could manufacturers be doing to overcome the skilled labour shortage? Our latest edition of the Future of Manufacturing series explores how manufacturers can attract and retain skilled talent, but first, what’s to be gained from this other than the obvious?

Earlier we mentioned the challenges of manufacturers being overwhelmed with orders and not having the workforce to facilitate them. So, it’s simple that building and maintaining a workforce with the right skillset will alleviate the bottleneck and allow manufacturers to focus on growth. But there’s more to be gained than this alone.

The right investment in skills and talent acquisition opens the door to innovation and competitiveness in ways that go beyond filling skilled positions. With the rise of Industry 4.0 and smart factories, employees with expertise in digital skills, data analysis, and robotics are becoming indispensable. When manufacturers cultivate a workforce capable of operating in an increasingly automated and digitally transformed environment, they not only address current shortages but also future proof their operations.

Additionally, our recommendations provide a long-term solution to the skilled labour shortage that goes beyond paying engineers more money. Of course, salaries will always be a differentiating factor, especially in the current economical climate but regardless of that, if employees aren’t happy in their working environment, it is unlikely that they will stay. We’ve all left a role for more money at some point in our career and realised that the grass wasn’t greener.

In fact, employees are far more likely to remain in roles where they experience a genuine sense of belonging and a positive company culture. Especially with a new generation increasingly focused on workplace ethics and values, it’s clear that the decision to stay with a company goes beyond the paycheque. This conscious shift towards purpose, and alignment with an organisation’s principles, demonstrates that a positive working environment is just as important as financial incentives in attracting and retaining the top talent.

So, what exactly has all this got to do with a Manufacturing Marketing Agency? Isn’t this the responsibility of a recruitment agency or the HR department?

Well, B2B marketing isn’t just about targeting potential business prospects. In fact, marketing can be applied to achieve a number of goals and that includes attracting and retaining talent. We call it employer branding and it’s designed to make prospective candidates want to work for your business. It’s about communicating why employees know and love the brand and who better than a marketer to target an audience and drive positive decision-making?

Recruitment agencies and HR departments don’t have the technical skills required to develop compelling recruitment web pages that communicates culture and values. Nor can they professionally produce videos of employees demonstrating the spirit of brand values.

We want to bring your brand to life—not just for the people who buy from you but also for those who live and breathe your business every day: your employees, your staff, your team members. Whatever you call them, it’s crucial to give them an identity and make them feel part of something bigger. It’s about providing clear goals to work towards and offering support when things go wrong.

Ultimately, the people who work for you will have a narrative about your business. They’ll talk about what it’s like to work for you, whether they would recommend it to friends looking for a job. If you don’t take control of that narrative, someone else will. It might be your managers (which, let’s face it, is part of their job), but more often, it’s the naysayers—the vocal minority who highlight every little thing that goes wrong. The bad eggs, the rotten apples. And then there’s the external threat: head-hunters swooping in to offer the world to someone you’ve spent years training. Sure, they may realise the grass isn’t always greener, but by then, it’s already too late.

Consumer marketing uses the term “New Customers Only” where suppliers promise the world to new customers whilst ignoring existing ones, some of whom have helped build their business for years.

Banks face a similar problem now people have realised it’s quite easy to switch. Car manufacturers too, airlines, cruises, web browsers, mobile phones, landlords (commercial and residential), hotels, travel agents, taxi cabs – they all have similar challenges, they have all had their traditional models disrupted, and they’ve all turned to their marketing teams to beat the competition with stronger brand loyalty.

That’s because the skills and strategies that shape your marketing success are the same ones that influence your workforce’s perceptions. It’s more than just perks like Dress Down Friday or Payday Pizza. It’s about inspiring your people to do better, push further, and understand that they already work for a company with the best intentions. So, when the time comes for them to consider moving on, they’ll always think twice.

It’s great that manufacturers are being proactive with their recruitment and retention strategies but for long-term success, and avoidance of staff turnover, investment needs to be made in the brand.

A top tip: Employer branding strategies need to be cohesive, and that means establishing a Unique Value Proposition as an employer. Ensure that your employer UVP is communicated throughout from the recruitment drive up to the on-boarding process.

Additionally, we’ve outlined 3 employer branding strategies to help attract and retain skilled talent:

As we previously mentioned, one of the challenges manufacturers face is an image problem, mostly with young talent. Employer branding can help turn that perception around by educating young people how manufacturing can offer exciting, hi-tech career options. Produce videos of different levels of engineers within the business, describing their success stories from apprentice to seasoned professional. Not only does this demonstrate career development but provides an opportunity to communicate the technical aspects involved in the role. Distribute these videos on social media, careers web page, and why not take these individuals to career fairs?

Building an employer brand that reflects a positive workplace culture is critical for attracting and retaining top talent. There’s a multitude of benefits that can be communicated with employer branding to make manufacturing more appealing to potential candidates – values, commitment to sustainability, team’s days and any work-life balance or well-being initiatives. Shout about them. These are supporting considerations for candidates looking for careers, especially amongst the next generation of workers. These can be exemplified through blog articles (i.e., Life at manufacturer), video marketing, and delivered through job alert notifications.

When marketing to consumers, providing a seamless experience across all touchpoints is essential for accelerating the buying cycle. The same rule applies to recruiting new talent. Making a seamless on-boarding experience requires utilising all the channels available:

• Build an inspiring careers page, that goes beyond the standard vacancy board.
• Offer candidates job alerts so that they’re the first to know when a new vacancy becomes available (and make sure to include compelling employer branding content to drive workplace desire).
• Exhibit at career fairs and blow the competition out of the water with inviting stands and creative recruitment activities. Career fairs are opportunities to collect data and build a pipeline of future employees, not just job applicants.
• Showcase a positive working environment on LinkedIn. Share content around teams’ days, values, sustainability, and career growth to inspire talent and drive desire to work for your organisation.

These are only some ideas you can implement in your employer branding strategy and be aware: attracting and retaining talent requires long-term attention and investment. It’s about shaping a narrative that reflects not only what your manufacturing firm does, but also who you are as an employer. Skilled talent is in demand, and companies that thrive are those that go beyond offering attractive salaries. They demonstrate a culture where employees are seen to be valued, inspired, and connected to a shared vision.