SMT Blog

Helping Manufacturers Identify, Train, and Keep the Best People

The Most Important Manufacturing Skill… Trainability

“How does a manufacturing company leader solve the skills gap? By emphasizing the only capability that truly matters.” IndustryWeek July 25, 2017 For more information on SMT’s manufacturing skill solutions, please click on the links below. Company Overview Presentation… Read More

The Manufacturing Skills Gap – A Look at the Hard Data

By now most of us have heard of or experienced the effects of the Manufacturing Skills Gap. There has been plenty of debate on whether it is a skills gap, a skills mismatch, a wage gap, or whether the whole concept is a socio-political fabrication. We, at Scientific Management… Read More


A Manufacturing Dilemma – Who Needs What Training?

Our manufacturing clients are often faced with the dilemma of knowing that their workforce needs training but not knowing who needs what training.  Delivering the same training to everyone is both expensive and inefficient; negatively impacting the ROI of most organizations’ limited training funds. Before we apply… Read More

The Standard Timing Model – Quantifying Industrial Skills for Hiring

The manufacturing skills gap is becoming an ever more extensive problem as global manufacturing continues to rebound. One of the most difficult tasks for hiring managers in the industrial space is getting a true read on the hard skill sets of job candidates. Difficulty finding qualified labor to fuel that growth… Read More

Training Effectiveness in a Manufacturing Environment

The numerous factors that can be used to evaluate training options in manufacturing can be overwhelming, especially with the surge of e-learning opportunities.  There is no doubt that e-learning can have a place, but we should be careful not to let ease of application, short term cost savings, and speed… Read More

Implementing a Lean Labor Strategy

How do I align my skilled labor with real time changes in demand?  How do I utilize labor as a source of competitive advantage?  How do I align training programs to maximize productivity? These are questions any manufacturing organization should ask and take action to address. Gregg Gordon describes Lean… Read More

Finding Hidden Talent in your Manufacturing Workforce

One of the keys to develop a successful manufacturing workforce is the ability to identify and nourish existing talent.  This is especially true as the skilled labor supply continues to dwindle, and demand continues to increase.  This skills gap threatens the bottom line profitability of manufacturers everywhere. Large Fortune… Read More

Solving a Crisis: Closing the Manufacturing Skills Gap

The Manufacturing Skills Crisis: There is a lot of benefit derived from raising awareness of the problem. Unfortunately, as the data indicates, that problem is only going to get worse and reversing decades of negative information and influence over manufacturing is not going to change quickly. Here are some grim… Read More