Survey highlights OEM skills shortages

The extent of the skills shortages facing the North American off-highway and commercial vehicles sector has been highlighted by a new survey by Lawsons Global Recruitment, part of KHL Group.

Almost three quarters of the more than 130 respondents - comprising OEMs as well as drivetrain and engine suppliers - reported increasing difficulties in attracting and retaining suitable talent.

The white paper is free to download. See link in main story.

Mid-level technical and engineering positions were by far the hardest to fill, with factory floor jobs the next most difficult. The respondents said senior management roles were not the main problem.

“Whatever the roles they are trying to fill, the interviews showed that companies are more and more looking to be innovative and to tap into diverse talent pools from groups that have not historically been drawn to the construction and engineering sectors - especially young women”, according to the white paper

The paper - Skills Shortages in the Construction Equipment, Power & OEM Sectors - is free to download here. 

Respondents identified numerous strategies for recruiting talent, with the three most popular being internal recruitment, use of recruitment agencies and internal referrals.

Larger companies in particular are becoming innovative in their approaches. Interviewed for the white paper, Rachel Bourne, Director of Global Talent Acquisition, Diversity, Sourcing and technology at Cummins Inc, said; “We are doing a lot more around storytelling – what Cummins is like, the type of work we do, that we are a company with certain values that are attractive to people, like our focus on diversity, our commitment to the environment and that our company is focused on technological innovation that is cutting edge and helps people everywhere, everyday.”

The white paper includes other interviews with Julie Davis (Director of Workforce development, AEM), Kristine Mong (Senior Director Human Resources, JLG) and Amy George (Senior VP of Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer, Terex.)

The survey was carried out in late 2021 and early 2022.