Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1419323
StuffMadeinMA.com • 2 0 2 1 • S T U F F 7 taxing manual labor where you need to pay attention. Other roles may involve just two different steps of training, others may involve 25," he said – of robots and machinery – offering a full range of work opportunities. Dexter-Russell uses CoWorx Staffing Services of Sturbridge to find applicants, who then get forwarded on to the compa- ny's human resources department. After a successful 90-day trial work period, the employees become permanent. The company, the oldest cutlery manu- facturer in the U.S., has more than 230 employees, and offers steady work and a matching 401(k) program. But like many other manufacturers, Dexter has had to get creative about draw- ing in applicants in a challenging hiring marketplace. Rice tells of a job fair where only five people showed up. The company's offer increased signing bonuses for appli- cants who bring in a friend to widen the pool. "We would take almost anybody with the right attitude," said Rice, "and the right drive. We can likely teach them the rest." Open-door policy A study this past spring by international consulting firm Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute in Washington, D.C. showed 71% of manufacturers nation- wide reported they'd have trouble attract- ing and keeping talent in 2021 and beyond. Thirty-six percent of U.S. manufacturers say finding talent is more difficult now than in 2018, though unemployment is higher. It's estimated the skills gap, with older, more experienced workers retiring and taking their knowledge with them, could leave 2.1 million manufacturing jobs unfilled by 2030, costing the U.S. economy $96,190 Average annual salary of a Massachusetts manufacturing employee in 2020 Continued on page 8 April Ullrich, former human resources manager at Dexter-Russell, solicits for job applicants at the Sturbridge facility. No-experience jobs Manufacturing jobs listed on SimplyHired.com at the end of September QUALITY ASSURANCE BENCH TECHNICIAN Ken's Foods, Marlborough $20 per hour LAB TECHNICIAN (food manufacturing) DAHlicious, Leominster $18 per hour ASSEMBLER IPG Photonics, Oxford $17-$18.70 per hour PRODUCTION WORKER Hollingsworth & Vose Co., West Groton $17.98 per hour MACHINE OPERATOR Jefferson Rubber Works, Worcester $15-$16.25 per hour PRODUCTION MIG WELDER New England Wire Products, Leominster $13.50-$16 per hour Note: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is the source for all STUFF factoids $24.96 Average hourly earnings of a Massachusetts manufacturing floor worker in 2020