Understanding the Attitudes of Incumbent Manufacturing Workers toward Training Opportunities

Abstract

The number of manufacturing industry jobs has declined in the United States over the past decades. In 1979, there were 19.6 million of these jobs at the manufacturing industry's peak, but by 2019 that number had decreased to 12.8 million—a 35 percent decrease from its peak. Moreover, automation and other innovations in the industry have created a need for a new type of manufacturing worker with a different set of skills. Solutions such as recruiting younger workers, creating diverse pathways for manufacturing jobs, and providing training to incumbent workers have been proposed and implemented over the years; however, some workers are not taking advantage of these training opportunities.

To explore the question of why these workers are not taking advantage of training opportunities? We combined a literature review with quantitative research that included an analysis of a nationally representative survey of manufacturing workers—followed by recommendations to improve the intention to train among manufacturing workers. The intended goal of this investigation was not to determine whether a worker is motivated or not but rather to understand the factors that influence the motivations of workers to participate in training.

The findings of this study support the idea that just offering training to all employees is not equally effective, even though, across the board, workers are motivated to take training. Their decisions to do so are influenced by various sets of factors. The study identifies these factors and the nature of their influence on intention to train with recommendations for managers to manage them to increase worker interest in training.

This study provides a resource for organizations looking to transform their training programs or develop new initiatives by understanding key factors affecting workers' training decisions. It also provides critical recommendations for addressing these factors, bolstering the intention to train among the organization's workers.