How much attention do you pay to where the products you buy are manufactured? Do you care that your clothes and shoes were likely made in southeast Asia? Or your smartphone? That was probably made in Asia, too.
Many people have never given much thought to where things are manufactured. The supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, however, awakened a lot of consumers to just how global the economy has become.
Why were so many shelves bare? Why were so many automobiles stockpiled awaiting one simple, yet critical microchip? These are the questions that made people realize just how dependent we are on foreign trading partners for many of our products.
This realization also ignited calls for renewed reshoring of manufacturing operations to American soil. These calls led to other questions about why manufacturing operations moved overseas to begin with. While many searched for an easy answer, such as cheaper labor, the reasons were often much more complex than simply the cost of labor.
Indeed, reshoring turns out to be a complicated issue with many factors at play. While the Trump administration’s on-again, off-again tariff-focused foreign trading policies seem focused on the idea that making foreign products more expensive will cause manufacturers to reshore operations to American soil, the reality is far different.
Such policies ignore the fact that there are many issues at play and reshoring requires large amounts of capital and years of planning. Yes, labor costs are certainly one factor manufacturers consider when determining where to build their products, but there’s one factor that could be more important than all others when it comes to persuading manufacturers to reshore operations to U.S. soil: access to a sufficient supply of skilled workers.
In a recent Industry Week article by Harry Moser and Kathy Nunnally, the authors point out that the Reshoring Initiative’s annual survey concluded that “[f]ixing talent shortages would be more powerful for bringing back manufacturing than tariffs and deregulation.”
In fact, “[t]he 2025 USA Reshoring Survey of 500 U.S. manufacturers, a collaboration between the Reshoring Initiative and Regions Recruiting, reached an actionable conclusion. A sufficient quantity and quality of U.S. workforce would bring back more manufacturing than any of the other surveyed options—tariffs, a lower U.S. dollar, lower tax rates or fewer regulations.”
According to the authors, this conclusion reflects the fact that “[c]ompanies understand they need more workforce quantity to increase output and better training to improve competitiveness.” How important is it to bridge this skills gap? “The success or failure of training millions of workers could skew the outcome of the U.S. reindustrialization momentum in either direction.”
That’s why increasing the skilled workforce is the primary factor key to the reshoring movement. What often gets lost in this discussion is the repercussions of not bridging the skills gap and how reshoring will actually widen that gap unless solutions are found.
As the authors note, “[e]ven without a surge in reshoring, 2.1 million manufacturing jobs are forecast to go unfilled by 2030, with an estimated loss to GDP of $1 trillion. Continued success of reshoring would increase that shortfall to 3 million or more.”
What can manufacturers looking to build new domestic facilities do to tackle skilled staffing issues? Nunnally offers a few suggestions, including:
- “Proactively develop your workforce through targeted apprenticeships and partnerships. Actively cultivate a skilled talent pipeline to mitigate shortages and tailor training to specific operational needs.”
- “Implement robust onboarding and continuous training programs. Establish comprehensive programs that immerse new employees in company culture, safety protocols, and operational procedures, ensuring ongoing skill development.”
These are great suggestions. Unfortunately, many manufacturers aren’t sure where to start. Tackling the challenges of training workers for modern manufacturing careers can seem daunting. Fortunately, there are experts available to guide them through the process.
Manufacturers can benefit from the expertise of the technical training experts at Amatrol. Amatrol has been the world leader in technical education for more than four decades now. The experts at Amatrol can provide needed guidance on everything from training and hands-on skill development to industry-standard certifications and apprenticeships.
The experts at Amatrol have been working alongside manufacturers for years to design training programs featuring eLearning curriculum and hands-on experience with trainers equipped with industrial components workers will encounter on the job. For more information about how Amatrol can help train students or workers, contact an expert at Amatrol today!
