Show AUTHENTIC ST STATEMENT A TEl fENT ner w Special to THE EXPRESS MEETING SKILLED MANPOWER SHORTAGES Dabson Babson Park Mass June 30 The manpower drought is about the worst in our history right now and the reservoir of skilled and type executive men and women is expected to dwindle still further The pro blem is a rough one for em em- em employers in practically all lines of business If you have any doubt about this look at the want ads in any city big news paper and see how many pages they fill Notice the wage fringe come ons the frantic calls in pig print from cities on the opposite sides of the nation Worker Shortages Must Be Met If a company is going to take Advantage of our boom condi and plan intelligently for future opportunities every me me- me method thod of building and maintain Ing topnotch top personnel must be tried Astute executives know this Hence the frantic search for suitable job applicants via every possible source This is the reason employers are offer ing bigger job benefits and fatter pay envelopes This ac counts for the pirate war go go- going ing on among manag management ment of of- of officials In an effort to bid away top employees from their rivals Executives may have been beena a dime a dozen during the de but that's a long time ago and the situation n nOw w is diametrically different New ex and management len lea dens ders are usually sought in the 44 35 age group and this cate gory is going to be on the de cline for the next decade at ac cording to population experts This means that younger aspic ants are being grabbed up as they come out nut of college and polished for official positions And the race will become more heated as the need for high skilled workers increases Worse Before Its It's Any Better Dont Don't think that conditions will be ironed honed out by some temporary cutbacks in auto pro pro- or in an occasional oth oth- other er industry or two Within the next decade it is estimated that management will peed need an add individuals the professions perhaps more It has already been pro pro- proven yen ven that electronic operations ns replace lower echelon employ ees but the demand for highly educated and making decision workers only expands Management should be prompt to upgrade employees within a plant so that younger newcom newcom- newcomers ers may be trained and moved onto the starting rungs of the organization ladder This is al al- al almost most always wiser and cheap cheap- cheaper er than bringing in high eche Ion outsiders at an ed salary rate Old timers are more likely too to stick with witha I a concern less likely to be lur ed away with bright promises plant In-plant training programs are area area a fine idea and government help Is usually available to help defray costs in such instances Business colleges and trade schools are developing more programs for young men and their education while still work Ing Government Analyzing Worker Spots Short As always there are places where the scarcity of labor is especially severe as well as places where there is some easing of the squeeze The gov government is now issuing a mono mon report to show where and andin andin in what industries labor short ages are most acute Also study is made of areas with surplus eSt eStIn es In plotting your person person- personnel net nel requirements for now and for the future it would undoubtedly undoubtedly help you to receive these monthly summaries Ask to be put on the mailing list for Re Be ports on Manpower Shortages and Reserves Send your reo re- request quest to Commissioner Arthur Ross Bureau of Labor Statis tics Labor Department Wash ington D C Look into ways of strength ening your personnel ways that you might not think of under normal conditions See if any present workers posses unreal skills that could be used for critical jobs classify Re-classify work requirements to be sure they are not higher than need be Interview skill low employ employ- employees ees with an eye to Increasing their potentials Ask the unions to help you revise retirement policies so that older employ ees who are willing may be kept on Increase the use of computers where possible to ease executive bottlenecks And as a last note dont don't overlook the executive possibilities of women especially those whose families have grown up and moved away from home |