August 2016
Issue Map
The Buzz

Is the Skills Gap a Myth?

Monday, August 15, 2016

For years, experts have lamented the growing skills gap in the U.S. manufacturing industry, saying there simply aren’t enough skilled workers to fill the vacant positions. However, a recent study from the University of Illinois argues the problem may not be as significant as it seems. "Not a week goes by without someone declaring that a huge skills gap exists in the U.S. workforce," said Andrew Weaver, a professor of labor and employment relations at the university. "A lot of ink has been spilled on this topic, but it's frequently without evidence. The popular sentiment encourages people to think that employers have high skill demands, but U.S. workers just aren't up to snuff, and that's why manufacturing work is being outsourced overseas." However, he argues that U.S. manufacturers are generally able to hire the workers they require, and that three-quarters of U.S. manufacturing plants show no sign of hiring difficulties. "We estimate an upper bound of job vacancies due to a potential skills gap of 16 to 25 percent of manufacturing establishments—a finding that sharply contrasts with other surveys that have reported figures of more than 60-70 percent," Weaver said.

View Source:
Be the first to comment
Sign In to Post a Comment
Sorry! Something went wrong on our end. Please try again later.