Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/807903
www.BoatingIndustry.com 24 | Boating Industry | April 2017 Labor shortages, especially in service and manufacturing, are hampering industry growth BY BRIANNA LIESTMAN & JONATHAN SWEET L isten to political speeches or check out the news and you'd get the idea that there isn't a job – especially a good paying blue- collar job – to be found in this country. Statements like "What will it take to bring back domestic manufac- turing jobs?" or "Why Trump will struggle to add manufacturing jobs" dominate the headlines. But anyone who's been paying attention lately knows that – at least in the boating industry – there are plenty of jobs if only companies can find people to fill them. It's no exaggeration to say that this workforce crisis may be the big- gest challenge facing the boating industry right now. Affordability, ex- panding to new markets and access issues are all important, but if there aren't enough people to build and service the boats and engines, none of the rest of that will matter. In this Special Report on the workforce crisis, we'll not only share some of the key data and challenges facing the industry, but also look at some of the creative solutions that companies and associations are taking across the country to tackle the issue. Supply and demand As the boating industry has recovered over the last several years, dealers, manufacturers and others are increasingly struggling to fill open positions. In our survey of Boating Industry readers last fall, 71 percent said they planned to add employees in 2017. Sixty-six percent of boat and engine manufacturers were trying to add employees this year, while more than 70 percent of dealers said the same. At the same time, many of those companies reported difficulty in fill- ing positions. In fact, 96 percent of manufacturers reported trouble filling open manufacturing positions in 2016 in our survey. For the dealers, the service department represented the most significant pain point, with 93 percent having difficulty filling those jobs.