Numerous companies in the U.S. are bouncing back with the help of skilled, experienced workers, many of which are nearing retirement age. While some of these older workers might stay on for financial reasons, manufacturers will be faced with a widening skills gap if they don't have a plan in place beforehand. According to U.S. News, manufacturing jobs in America often don't require four-year degrees but are high paying, skilled positions, meaning manufacturers invest a lot of money into each and every worker. In fact, the average manufacturing worker earns $77,000 every year, according to U.S. News. Manufacturers can't afford to have their best performers retire without employing trained professionals, and many will choose to offshore manufacturing to take advantage of the growing manufacturing labor force within the country.
According to Manufacturing.net, what is being deemed the "retirement crisis" might be the biggest threat to the U.S. manufacturing sector since the Great Recession. Manufacturing.net reported the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is now placing the average retirement age between 66 and 67, up from the current 63 years of age, yet even this bump won't give manufacturers much leg room to train workers in the U.S. While manufacturing in the U.S. will remain strong well into the future and there are growing collaborations to increase the number of U.S. military veterans in the sector, American companies need to move their production processes where labor is talented, hard working and highly skilled but isn't expensive.
Expanding to Mexico allows manufacturers to reduce their operational expenses while creating quality products through the country's skilled workforce. Manufacturing is a large industry in Mexico, and many employees choose to go to school for engineering and other types of manufacturing professions in order to work in the country's strong manufacturing sector.
The Offshore Group: You Manufacture ... We Do The Rest