2020’s pandemic and subsequent recession disrupted many industries globally, and the ripple effect has played a major role over these last few years. Even now, well into 2025, we’re still reading news items about how the hospitality, entertainment, and restaurant industries are struggling. But those years have also had long-term effects on the manufacturing sector. Chief among those is a skilled labor gap.
When many light industrial manufacturers had to temporarily close facilities, halt production schedules, scale back operations, or reorganize workflows, they struggled with lost revenue. But necessary layoffs also had an unexpected result: workers moved elsewhere, whether that was into new jobs in other industries or — as in the case of the area that our staffing agency services — left high cost-of-living states like California entirely.
Despite these challenges, there are still major opportunities in the light industrial manufacturing sector, you just have to know where to look.
Let’s explore the light industrial manufacturing skilled labor gap and what leaders in the light industrial manufacturing industry can do to proactively protect profits.
The Light Industrial Manufacturing Skilled Labor Gap
A report published in 2022 by The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte found that one of the chief issues facing the manufacturing industry is public perception, which means “manufacturers find themselves waging a war for talent both globally and, more importantly, at the hyper-local level.” Another 2024 study, also by Deloitte and the Institute, found that U.S. Manufacturing could need 3.8 million new employees by 2033 — but of those open jobs, 1.9 million could go unfilled due to the existing labor gap.
How can manufacturing employers change the conversation to attract more skilled employees?
Misconceptions About Working in the Light Industrial Manufacturing Industry
A major challenge in attracting new workers to manufacturing is the general misconception of what it means to work in the industry. Too often, the perception is that industrial work dirty, dangerous, and has limited growth. The reality is that manufacturing as a career has changed immensely over many decades — and the perception problem can be solved.
There are more robust safety regulations to keep employees healthy and happy, most companies now have employee retention plans and entice employees to stay with benefits, work perks, and other incentives. Manufacturing has also had major technological advancements over the years, with robust technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), transforming how work gets done in a factory, and the new skills needed to work in these spaces.
Solutions for the Light Industrial Manufacturing Industry
Set Up Internal Training
Eliminate the labor gap yourself by up-skilling your own employees. One of the best ways to develop your industrial workforce is with your company’s internal training opportunities. This allows you to custom-design the curriculum for the exact skills you need to run your operations. It also enables you to tap into a broad spectrum of applicants and train them to know exactly how to produce your desired production results using your own techniques, communication, and work styles – creating a streamlined process geared for success.
Invest in Employees’ Safety
Partner with a Light Industrial Manufacturing Hiring Expert
Partnering with light industrial manufacturing staffing experts will fill roles faster and help hit production goals. Finding the right local, light manufacturing hiring expert who knows how to best sell your niche to their pool of local job seekers can be a game-changer. Professional industrial recruiters will know exactly how to position your open roles to fill them quickly with experienced employees to ensure your company can hit production goals and keep employees safe. These recruiters know how to ignite interest around the benefits of work in this sector, like:
- career advancement
- on-the-job training
- benefits and work perks
- a direct path to making a career
- no tremendous student loan debt
When looking for hiring solutions, vet light industrial manufacturing hiring experts for the following:
- Expertise in the light industrial industry
- A strong local presence
- A true partnership mindset with your company’s goals in mind
- Fast fill times so you can make sure the job is staffed and completed right on time
- Great onboarding and offboarding resources to help employers be successful
Especially with the challenge of a skilled labor gap, you’re going to want to have “all hands on deck” to ensure your roles get filled and production goals are hit on time.
What To Do Next
Get a consultation call with one of the largest light industrial manufacturing staffing firms in northern California to make sure you learn the best practices and have all the help you need to meet production quotas.
Star Staffing is a Northern California-based recruiter that specializes in light industrial manufacturing. As our partner, you’ll have access to a massive talent pool of work-ready assembly, operation, and production workers in Northern California. Learn more about how we hire for manufacturing and warehouse roles or contact us at 707-762-4447.