Suffering from workforce headaches?
Edward P. Salek, CAE, Executive Director | TLT Headquarters Report April 2022
STLE Education is ready with relief options.
STLE is upskill ready with a variety of professional education and training programs available to both members and nonmembers of the society.
Labor shortages continue to be among the high-profile business challenges of 2022. As analysts scramble to explain the causes and suggest solutions, people in the lubricant industry are excused for not being quite as surprised by the situation.
Writing in the
March TLT, veteran lubricants recruiting consultant Ken Pelczarski of Pelichem Associates noted in his Career Coach article that for this business, it is not a new or unfamiliar problem. According to Pelczarski, “The lubricant industry has historically experienced challenges in attracting recent graduates and other new talent.”
However, he also pointed out two additional factors making the talent shortage even more of a current struggle for the tribology and lubricants community. According to Pelczarski, “Many professionals, skilled labor and other industry workers have left the lubricant field either temporarily or permanently during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus, there are a record number of job openings throughout the U.S. since the summer of 2021.”
Is there a remedy for these recruiting and retention headaches? A consensus solution among experts is to upskill current employees or train promising new hires that have potential but need to learn the field. Related to that is the fact that many employers are turning to associations as the source for this assistance. For example, a 2021 benchmarking report prepared by Marketing General Inc., an association consulting firm, found there was a 57% increase in members attending professional development programming last year.
STLE is upskill ready with a variety of professional education and training programs available to both members and nonmembers of the society.
The STLE 2022 Annual Meeting & Exhibition at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla. (U.S.), is a prime opportunity. The program features 12 industry-specific education courses offered on two days of the conference: Sunday, May 15, and Wednesday, May 18. The May education program includes an electric vehicle course on May 18. It covers hardware, tribology, lubrication, thermal management and testing related to electric vehicles. Visit
www.stle.org/annualmeeting/edu for details and registration.
STLE also maintains a robust and convenient digital education program that’s available year round. Webinars and other online education options are at the heart of STLE’s goal of being recognized as the go-to resource for knowledge in lubrication and tribology, as well as world-class certification. These online offerings address new technology, basic technical information and important market segments like metalworking fluids. Watch for regular announcements through email and at
www.stle.org. If you aren’t receiving the emails, reach out to
information@stle.org to make sure you know about upcoming programming.
New regional courses on lubrication fundamentals were just announced for 2022 by the STLE Education Committee. Beginning this year, the program will be offering one-day and two-day courses in conjunction with STLE Local Sections. There also will be a virtual course element to the program. Watch for additional information coming from your STLE Local Section.
Finally, remember that one of the best ways for people to build their technical knowledge and keep current is through TLT. Make sure that each monthly issue is widely circulated in either digital or hard copy format. In addition to the current issue, back issues of TLT beginning in 2009 are available at
www.stle.org.
Although upskilling might be a buzzword, there’s serious potential involved. According to estimates by the World Economic Forum, an international foundation based in Switzerland, addressing the skills gap could increase global gross domestic product (GDP) by trillions of dollars over the next two years. STLE is playing its part in the effort, and we invite employers to look to our organization to reach their individual goals.
You can reach Certified Association Executive Ed Salek at esalek@stle.org.