In recent years, the global manufacturing industry has seen steady growth in a variety of ways, resulting from post-pandemic recovery to digital transformation, product and service innovation, sustainability initiatives, and strategic investments. The United States has experienced significant manufacturing growth driven by the same trends, particularly from infusions of capital from private investments and government initiatives.   

• Domestic Growth: New U.S. manufacturers continue to emerge, existing firms are shifting strategies, and all are creating more manufacturing jobs. In early October 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce cited that investments provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act had created more than 700,000 new manufacturing jobs as of September 2024, and that more than $910 billion in private investments were on the books nationwide to support industries of the future.
• Sustainability: By focusing on sustainability, manufacturing companies are finding great success in prioritizing the need to reduce their environmental footprints. The use of LED lighting, more efficient machinery, solar power, wind power, sustainable materials, and more allows manufacturers to reduce costs, stay competitive, and grow revenue in today’s economy. 
  
• Digital Transformation: Manufacturers are finding new ways to reshape their businesses and the industry by taking advantage of innovative industrial solutions – from smart factory technologies to many other digital solutions built with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and associated technologies. And chief among any manufacturing company’s IT portfolio are more powerful data protection and cybersecurity solutions to protect their businesses in our increasingly digital world.  

These and other manufacturing industry advancements and trends have not only created more job opportunities but also (and especially) high demand for experienced professionals to help companies and teams compete today and in the future.  

Passive job candidates answer the growing need for specialized talent    

The manufacturing industry’s steady progression into digital transformation across all facets of an operation requires investing in talent with requisite experience and skill sets. Manufacturing companies need professionals in a variety of cutting-edge roles, including robotics technicians, machine learning engineers, cybersecurity analysts and specialists, and the list goes on.  

Talent acquisition in the manufacturing industry has become more complex: In the world of talent recruiting, we frequently hear that manufacturers are not getting the results they want when posting job openings – on job boards, on social media sites like LinkedIn, and other job platforms, even manufacturing-specific ones. While their job postings do generate a variety of applicants and resumes for open positions, what many manufacturers are looking for instead are candidates who are not actively searching for a new job.  

Known as passive candidates, professionals in this sought-after talent pool have manufacturing experience and specialized skill sets that are in highest demand. But many if not most have been with their current employers for years, and they’re happy and satisfied in their current jobs. However, even though passive candidates are not active job seekers, they’re most certainly open to the right job opportunities that align with their career paths, interests, or personal goals.  

How to find and connect with these in-demand professionals  

How do you find and attract people who have been with a company for years, who possess the qualifications you’re looking for, who know the ins, outs, and trends of the manufacturing industry – and who are experienced in working with current technologies and systems? 

The answer is to partner with a talent recruiter with expertise in the manufacturing field.  

There are many ways manufacturing recruiting specialists can help you onboard top talent:  

• We give you access to a more expansive talent pipeline through our relationships with active and passive candidates across the nation, allowing us the opportunity to focus on the best candidates for your specific job openings. 

• We create the opportunity to get your foot in the door with the most qualified candidates who you may never otherwise find on your own. 

• We save your internal talent acquisition team countless hours and simplify your hiring process. We employ sophisticated recruiting tools, pre-screen and thoroughly vet candidates, coordinate and schedule interviews, keep candidates excited about your opportunity, effectively communicate between you and your chosen candidates, assist in salary negotiations and new hire onboarding, and keep everyone informed along the way. 

• We provide you with market intelligence about competitive salaries, benefits packages, and work arrangements that are offered among manufacturing industry companies in various cities, states, and regions. 

Consider partnering with Goodwin Recruiting  

The Goodwin Recruiting team has expertise in sourcing and placing top talent, including passive candidates, across a manufacturing enterprise. Far beyond the high-tech roles noted above, we also place manufacturing industry executives, operations managers, plant managers, controllers, project superintendents, engineers, and many others.  

With more than 25 years of recruiting expertise, we offer contingency and retained search options to meet your hiring needs and budget. Goodwin Recruiting exists to be an additional resource for you in finding the candidates you need to build a world-class manufacturing team. Learn more about why Hiring Managers and Talent Recruiters Are the Dynamic Duo!   

If there are key roles you’re struggling to fill (rural location, looking for re-lo candidates, etc.), or roles for which you’d simply love to expand your list of job seekers with passive candidates, reach out today and let us help you find the best candidates, ease your recruitment process, and meet urgent hiring goals.