Are You Lacking These Tech Skills?

According to a recent survey by the LMA Consulting Group and APICS Inland Empire, in which they surveyed employers in the manufacturing and logistics arenas, the following professional/tech skills were reported to be the most lacking:

• Capacity Planning
• Operations Management
• Manufacturing Operations Technical Skills (CNC, etc.)
• IT/ERP
• Demand Planning/Forecasting
• Lean/Six Sigma Process Improvement
• Inventory Management
• Project Management

These same respondents believe that these skills will be the most needed in the upcoming market with communication and presentation skills a close second. A total of 77% of employers surveyed reported having trouble finding talent that meets these skill demands, and most attributed the cause to a disconnect between college education and the skills needed. It is interesting to note, however, that despite the difficulty in finding properly trained talent that companies have been (1) slow to build effective retention programs for talent they already have and (2) slow to implement comprehensive training programs to develop the talent they want.