Help wanted: Online job board is dedicated exclusively to PLM in manufacturing
Jim Fulcher, contributing editor -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 5/13/2008 4:53:00 PM
One of the ways to satisfy users’ high expectations for online search capabilities is to be able to refine the searches—and, therefore, the results.
PLMjobs.com is doing just that. Launched May 17 and dedicated solely to product life-cycle management (PLM)-related positions, the Web site was created to help manufacturers quickly find qualified employees—and help workers find positions.
While PLM software market growth varies in forecast in part because PLM is a catch-all term used to group a broad spectrum of tools and systems used to manage the life of a product from cradle to grave, leading research firms such as Ann Arbor, Mich.-based CIMdata and Boston-based AMR Research peg current annual growth between 8 percent and 15 percent, says Will Milling, business development director for PLMjobs.com.
There are two main forces behind that growth, Milling explains. The first is that Tier 1 manufacturers use PLM, and continue to drive its adoption among their suppliers. For example, in development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, 43 parts suppliers participated in a revolutionary development effort by creating a virtual development world with Boeing where the plane and its manufacturing processes were designed, created, and tested digitally before anything physically moved to production—which significantly reduced the number of costly and lengthy prototypes, Milling says.
The second factor driving PLM growth is midsize companies recognize PLM as a significant and affordable tool that enables them to compete more effectively in a highly competitive global market, Milling says. For example, there’s higher usage among consumer packaged goods and retail goods companies, and pharmaceuticals manufacturers also are using PLM to meet regulatory compliance.
“Between market growth and increased strategic use, PLM professionals are in demand. In the U.S., for example, there are roughly 4,000 open PLM positions at any one time,” Milling says. “The time is absolutely right to launch a job board dedicated exclusively for PLM practitioners.”
The site, which is free for job seekers to use, lists positions by geographic areas encompassing the United States., the U.K., France, Germany, India, and Japan so job hunters can search by position, geographic area—or both. They also can post their resume or curricula vitae (CV) on the site.
“Manufacturers looking to hire PLM practitioners can list global job positions on the site, but when a critical mass of résumés has been reached, they also will be able to search CV and résumés of job seekers who already have posted their documents,” Milling says. “This is a paid-for-listing service, so employers looking to recruit pay to list their positions. Price is wholly dependent on volume of their listings.”
The next step for PLMjobs.com, says Milling, is to increase traffic.
“We’re working with search engine providers to ensure the site comes up early in standard Web searches,” Milling says. “We’ll also be attending manufacturing events to drive site awareness among manufacturers and PLM professionals.”
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