ERIC Number: EJ865352
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 29
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-1864
EISSN: N/A
Closing the Gap: Education Requirements of the 21st Century Production Workforce
Stone, Kyle B.; Kaminski, Karen; Gloeckner, Gene
Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, v45 n3 p5-33 Win 2009
Due to the large number of individuals retiring over the next ten years a critical shortage of people available to work within the manufacturing industry is looming (Dychtwald, Erickson, & Morison, 2006). This shortage is exacerbated by the lack of a properly educated workforce that meets the demands of the 21st century manufacturer (Judy & D'Amico, 1997). Combine these two issues and the result is a steady reduction in qualified candidates for the millions of jobs available in the manufacturing industry. The purpose of this research was to identify if a knowledge gap exists between the manufacturing industry and the educational institutions charged with education of the production workforce. Although the majority of manufacturers and educators indicated there was a gap between the educational institutions and the manufacturer's needs, this research did not uncover a significant gap between the educational institutions and the manufacturers specific to their understanding of the attributes, skills and adult basic education level of a highly skilled production employee. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Manufacturing Industry, Competition, Global Approach, Employment Patterns, Labor Market, Supply and Demand, Labor Force Development, Adult Basic Education, Vocational Schools, Employer Attitudes, School Business Relationship
National Association of Industrial and Technical Teacher Educators. Web site: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JITE/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Basic Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Colorado
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A