Putting Talent at the Centre An Evolving Imperative for Manufacturing 2025

Top 15 manufacturing labour economies FIGURE 7 Projected manufacturing population growth 2023-30, % CAGRHigher LowerDeficit Projected manufacturing labour supply-demand balence, 2030, trajectory case, % above/below 2030 labour supply Surplus -2 -1 0 1 2 -301020304050 10 20 30 40China US SpainMexico Indonesia BrazilCanada India TürkiyeItalyPoland France Germany Japan South KoreaInvest in productivity Invest in transitionInvest in stabilityInvest in distinctiveness Americas Asia-Pacific Europe, Middle East and Africa Source: McKinsey & Company. Many economies, like the US and China, are facing productivity imperatives, where manufacturing labour shortages combine with a shrinking labour pool to create fierce competition for labour. This compounds the difficulty of attracting skilled talent in sufficient numbers, while raising the risk that vital skills and knowledge will be lost as experienced employees retire or leave. To mitigate the impact of labour shortages, manufacturers with sites that face a productivity imperative can prioritize two levers. The first is deploying efficient processes and advanced technologies; the second is developing and retaining a workforce with advanced skills and capabilities to get the most out of advanced production systems. Additionally, sites can seek to understand their overall employee value proposition (EVP) – a comprehensive framework that outlines the unique benefits and experiences offered to employees in exchange for their skills, capabilities and contributions. Understanding how employees view the current EVP will allow the site to make target investments. The company or site should also understand its overall performance on critical productivity metrics, including but not limited to labour unit productivity, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and yield. Likewise, it should understand how stability factors like absenteeism, turnover, vacancy rate and time to fill are impacting productivity metrics. Putting Talent at the Centre: An Evolving Imperative for Manufacturing 13