Survey says access to IT and training is big incentive to switch manufacturing jobs
by Frank O Smith, senior contributing editor (fosmith@thewritinggroup.com) -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 2/1/2009 7:00:00 AM
Results of a national survey released this past November confirm how pervasive and important information technology (IT) is with regard to the character and competitiveness of organizations.
Survey fact: Almost four in 10 workers (39 percent) in all industries said they would consider going to work for another company if better technology was available in doing their jobs—even in this uncertain economy. Further, 37 percent said they would switch if better technology training was offered.
And the number of people who would switch jobs jumps to 52 percent for those in the manufacturing sector alone—the highest percentage among all industry sectors covered in the survey.
“That was a big surprise: Two out of five respondents overall said they would leave—pick up stakes and move across the country, if necessary—to work for a company they could get excited about, with state-of-the-art technology and training,” says Dr. Gerald Gordon (left), Ph.D., CEO and president of the Fairfax (Va.) County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA), which sponsored the survey.
FCEDA plotted out the survey to gain insight for how to better position suburban Washington, D.C., to attract new companies and the critical labor talent needed to support them.
“There is tremendous competition in the labor pool for younger workers with IT skills,” Gordon adds. “Employers that will release them from work or pay for training will attract them over companies that won’t.”
It’s something companies need to remain mindful of, even during the economic downturn, says Gordon. Companies that continue to remain competitive in this regard will be better positioned to attract competent, motivated new hires when the economy picks up again.
Here are other notable survey findings, by the numbers:
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80 percent say better technology gives their company a competitive edge.
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Four out of five say access to technology is important to their capacity to be creative and productive on the job.
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90 percent of professional service workers say technology is critical to their productivity at work.
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Significantly more men (43 percent) than women (31 percent) would switch for better training.
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Almost 4 in 10 workers (39 percent) in all industries said they would consider going to work for another company if better technology was available in doing their jobs. |
“Questions were not framed to get deeper into the reasons why,” Gordon says, “but it makes you think that perhaps it’s the age-old American notion that the way to get ahead is through better education and training.”
