Innovation

ManpowerGroup leveraged a decade of employer input and workforce trend analysis to spot a growing need for fast track experiential and classroom training to prepare people for in-demand jobs in the U.S. manufacturing sector. The resulting innovative solution is the Academy of Advanced Manufacturing (AAM), created in partnership with Rockwell Automation. What’s innovative is ManpowerGroup’s focus on under-employed populations with adjacent skills and high “learnability” (i.e., the desire and ability to quickly grow and adapt one's skill set to remain employable throughout their working life). The 2017 pilot effort focused on U.S. military veterans—people for whom there are almost immediate difficulties translating their skills and experiential value into civilian employment, which can lead to under-employment or, worse, unemployment.

Together, ManpowerGroup and Rockwell developed 12 weeks of comprehensive education focusing on the technology and soft skills needed to translate participants’ current experience into sustainable employment in the fast-growing automation industry. It’s an immersive and intensive program with a job waiting at completion. Candidates are fully supported during their training, with living expenses covered and no charge for training. The focus is on adjacent skills, identifying people who already are 2/3 of the way there given their existing skills and experience. The program helps them translate those skills into a different environment.

The pilot programs in 2017 and 2018 will graduate 170 veterans. AAM leaders aim to train 1,000 veterans per year and expect that the program can be adapted to other under-employed populations and multiple sectors throughout the global economy.

Inspiration

Sixty years ago, ManpowerGroup founder, Elmer Winter, posed the question within the firm: "Does the company have a mission beyond making a profit for its stockholders?" Mr. Winter's answer was: "Our company can be a tremendous instrument for good if in some way we can help make people employable." Personally, Winter was interested in those who are not selected for employment. He imbued the company with this deep sense of social responsibility.

For the past ten years ManpowerGroup has been conducting an annual survey among employers worldwide. Today, U.S. employment forecasts 3.5 million new jobs in the U.S. manufacturing sector by 2027; 2.5 million manufacturing workers set to retire by 2025; and 46% of U.S. employers continuing to experience talent shortages—in fact, it’s listed as the No. 1 employer-identified issue. Surveys routinely show employers hoping for a quick and lasting solution. With business reinvention cycles shortening, employee skills cycles are likewise shortening. ManpowerGroup partnered with the Digital Manufacturing Design Institute to determine the critical employee roles and attributes needed in the sector. Consistent with its vision question from 1969, ManpowerGroup asked, “What if we could address the #1 stated employer need by providing opportunities to under-employed people with adjacent skills and high learnability (aka, a willingness and desire to learn)?” Strong partnerships made it possible for ManpowerGroup to launch the Academy of Advanced Manufacturing in 2017, with the first cohort of intensive, residential training among veterans and, their successful employment placement upon completion.

Overall impact

To date, AAM’s impact occurs on three levels. First, individual AAM participants are moving from under-employment to full employment with significant earning potential. Graduate/employee self-esteem soars, families achieve greater security, and the virtuous cycle of learning and application is demonstrated once again.

Second, corporate partners gain access to highly motivated, job-ready employees who enable them to compete in the global marketplace. Employer participation in AAM becomes a talent attraction differentiator, furthering the company’s brand identity among prospective employees as a good place to work. Productivity accelerates and turnover is reduced, both of which yield bottom line benefits.

Third, workforce stability (at the family and corporate levels) contributes to overall economic ecosystem growth. This pilot innovation helps to demonstrate that under-employed populations are not a social problem to be solved, but an opportunity to be embraced and amplified. The comprehensive soft and hard skills training AAM participants receive insures that they are immediately ready for the demands of sophisticated automation employment and, equally important, become living models of adaptability and resilience. AAM is truly a win-win-win.

With operations and strong employer relations in 80 countries, ManpowerGroup has similar programs in many countries and is considering ways to scale up this powerful upskilling program that can continually adapt to changing needs and ubiquitous technology innovation. The AAM pilot demonstrates that the speed of solution development + strength of employer partnerships + insights on adjacent skills and high learnability among under-employed individuals = a skills gap-closing-innovation that fuels economic growth (UN SDG #8).

Business benefit

This program is an example of the company’s “solutioning process.” ManpowerGroup benefits include: 1) ManpowerGroup gets paid by employer clients for every program graduate they place in a job; 2) it reinforces the ManpowerGroup brand (i.e., being known for workforce solutions well beyond staffing); 3) it reinforces the brand with potential candidates, being especially attractive to Millennials, who want to see purpose in action. In fact, Ms. Strickon notes that “talent attraction is a huge differentiator” for ManpowerGroup; and 4) having this program makes ManpowerGroup employees proud of their corporate association.

Program leaders envision further business benefits for ManpowerGroup. First, the greater the visibility of these pilot efforts, the greater the likelihood of developing a waiting list of employers ready to partner for addressing in-demand employee roles. Second, ManpowerGroup has demonstrated its ability to synthesize and integrate market inputs and trend data in order to respond quickly with workforce solutions. Leaders envision the possibility of replicating this program for many different under-employed populations (beyond U.S. veterans) with different adjacent skills. Ms. Strickon envisions a near term ManpowerGroup impact of five times the number of programs modeled after AAM. This is possible—and likely—because of ManpowerGroup’s uncommon strength in identifying skills needed. Third, the strong mission and values culture of ManpowerGroup makes it likely that soon most, if not all, ManpowerGroup employees will know the power of the AAM story and be able to share it in their own words, thereby extending the reach and interpretation (value) of the brand.

Social and environmental benefit

ManpowerGroup’s founder, Elmer Winter, always expressed a concern for candidates not selected for employment. He felt the company had a responsibility to address that situation. Research shows that veterans leaving the service often feel adrift. They report that their value to others, viewed through their service lens, doesn’t easily translate in civilian work. Success with the three cohorts to date proves that this kind of program has potential to reinforce their sense of purpose. In addition to helping them develop their full potential, graduate incomes have doubled.

Rockwell is the co-founder and partner in this program. The graduates are being placed in jobs with Rockwell’s and ManpowerGroup’s customers. Rockwell’s position as a leader in the automation field is reinforced, as is their employer brand.

The shortening skills cycle will lead ManpowerGroup to both accelerate and broaden their efforts beyond these early pilots. The approach is under-employed populations + adjacent skills and high participant “learnability” scores + strong employer partnerships = 12 weeks of comprehensive training focusing on the technology and soft skills participants need to translate their current experience into sustainable employment in the fast-growing automation industry. This solution is, however, not limited to veterans nor to the automation industry. This whole process can be applied to other job roles and other facets of manufacturing, driven by job demand. This is a model of workforce and employer adaptation.

Interview

JoAnn Strickon, Global Sustainability Manager, Manpower Group