AmiSight 7/9: Skilled, Short-Staffed, and Misunderstood: The New Blue-Collar Reality
- Ami Kassar
- Jul 9
- 1 min read
As older factory workers retire and fewer young people step into their roles, U.S. manufacturing is facing a shortage of approximately 400,000 skilled blue-collar workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Here are some perspectives from LinkedIn about attracting and retaining talent:
Holly Avery, senior national recruiter at Butsch Corp., urges parents and high school guidance counselors to encourage students to look at other options than just a four-year degree. “There are SO many careers that require Trade School/Tech School education, which is much shorter and far less costly,” she says. “Those graduates are flourishing and outearning the college graduates out of the gate.”
Scrum Master and Editor Karen Offermann offers a different take as a member of a family of steelworkers. “Even with union representation, it's a difficult situation – at the very best,” she said. “Try it for yourself for a year before you talk about factory work like it's an amazing opportunity.”
Tim Dasey, AI educator, argues that manufacturing jobs are not the same as in previous generations. “Today’s manufacturing jobs require more expertise, especially with computer technologies. And many manufacturers in the U.S. can’t find enough people with those skills.”
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