The Roundup 2026: volume 2 / Article 1 / Article 2 / Article 3 / Article 4
The demand for skilled trades professionals continues to grow faster than the supply. Automotive companies and chipmakers feel the strain, as well as life sciences, energy, and all parts of manufacturing.
The shortage of skills creates a significant drag on business performance and strategic decision-making. Current trends and figures highlight the urgency:
- A projected deficit of 2.1 million skilled trade professionals in the U.S. by 2030 is raising alarms across sectors.
- 51.3% of biopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities report the inability to hire and retain technical staff as the primary barrier to production capacity through 2026.
- 75% of energy market leaders acknowledge ongoing skilled worker shortages.
- The ratio of retirement to new entrants is challenging: For every five retiring tradespeople in the U.S., only two join the workforce.
Our view:
There’s no substitute for industry experience, but experience alone isn’t enough.
Many technical challenges span multiple industries, so the demand for any given skill isn’t confined to one sector. For example, pipefitters and electricians are needed by pharmaceutical manufacturers, data centers, healthcare facilities, and auto manufacturing plants. Tech-savvy machine operators are essential to robotics across all manufacturing sectors.
Our clients depend on us for our broad reach, networks across industries, and global locations. Seek a provider that can tap into all available talent to sustain a reliable pipeline for critical skills.
Data makes the difference in workforce strategy decisions.
Skilled trades recruiting benefits enormously when live market data and analytics are factored into decisions such as how to define the job, where to target talent, and even where to locate facilities.
We’ve helped clients benefit from that use of data, but those benefits depend on two factors:
- First, the data must be analyzed and interpreted to deliver precise, predictive intelligence. That requires a technology ecosystem with the integration and analytics needed to deliver specific and predictive information.
- Second, as the people making decisions, leadership and hiring managers need to understand and embrace the data-driven approach. As a solutions partner, training often proves to be the biggest value we provide, when our objectivity and expertise bring everyone on board with the decision-making process.
A data-driven workforce strategy can help position a supply chain to support launching a new drug, or it can determine what lies ahead when moving an equipment manufacturing facility. Don’t underestimate the strategic value of your workforce data. We can help make the most of it.
Widen candidate attraction to include retirees and new entrants to the workforce.
As retirement rates outpace market entry, companies are rethinking how to attract, retain, and redeploy talent at all career stages.
Organizations can widen their appeal to older workers with tactics such as adjusting roles for flexibility or extending work opportunities during retirement. Likewise, outreach and development programs targeting newer entrants, apprenticeships, career pathways, and upskilling strengthen access to new workers.
Look beyond an “order-taking” workforce partner.
Companies often fall into the pattern of determining the talent strategy first and then telling their outsourced solutions provider to execute, whether for permanent hires or extended workforce talent. A better approach is leaning on the external partner for guidance on how to balance tactics to suit your industry, locations, and sought-after skills. They have the data, experience, and shared interest in a successful strategy to achieve the best outcome.
Global perspective.
"Today’s workforce is global, remote, and increasingly complex. As our clients hire across borders, they expect regional and local presence, global governance, and an agile, seamlessly connected delivery model."
Amy Bush, President, RPO, KellyOCG®
