Challenge: Bridging the Hands-On Technician Skills Gap
Companies face a critical challenge in recruiting and developing skilled workers for hands-on technician roles. Driven by the rapid pace of sensor, automation, semiconductor, and AI advancements, the demand for hands-on technicians has already jumped 50 percent in manufacturing, renewable energy, and healthcare, along with millions of new unfilled roles forecasted by the decade’s end. Despite the private sector investing over $164 billion annually in education and training, the U.S. skills gap is the widest in history for positions requiring hands-on technical expertise. Companies have difficulty describing their talent needs, while traditional education struggles to align credentials and curricula with ambiguous and rapidly changing requirements. Constant frustration between companies and colleges has led to the burden being placed on company talent development and acquisition teams to bridge the gap with solutions that ensure technicians are productive from day one while controlling cost and ensuring no missed business opportunities due to a lack of talent.
Solution: A Skills-to-JobsⓇ Approach
The foundation of the Skills-to-JobsⓇ (S2J) framework is the one point of access to 1,100+ community and technical colleges strategically located throughout the US, allowing companies to manage their Skills-to-Jobs ® Network for technician roles cost-effectively. The colleges provide the place-based infrastructure for a future-focused, practical solution to the technician talent crisis. Powered by three interconnected drivers—Get Skills, Get Creds, and Get JobsⓇ—unmuddled paths emerge that are clear, concise, affordable, and flexible to skill up quality talent quickly. Actionable Networks of employers, colleges, and talent align incentives for greater outcomes that are beneficial to each and advantageous to all. People Premium is at the heart of the approach, highlighting the irreplaceable value of human interaction and emotional intelligence in the process. While technology accelerates talent development, human-led instruction, practical labs, and real-time feedback ensure that talent is adaptable, flexible, and ready for the following change. The S2J approach simplifies talent pipelines, connecting companies with ready-to-work talent through a network of 1,100+ community and technical colleges.
Steps: Get Skills. Get Creds. Get Jobs.(R)
Get Skills| Scalable, Consistent, and High Quality
The first step, “Get Skills,” focuses on hands-on, skill training pathways co-created with employers and colleges to meet technician job specifications. Informed by future labor market data, talent develops technical and professional skills, followed by practical experience required to succeed in highly coveted technician roles. The emphasis is on Ultra Flex training, which is flexible and accessible through online, hybrid, and in-person formats. While virtual and hybrid training have merits, in-person labs are particularly crucial for technical roles to practice and understand the ‘art and science’ of technical roles. Ultra-flex formats ensure faster skill development, tailored to your business and workforce requirements.
For instance, Texas State Technical College (TSTC) collaborates with Amazon Reliability & Maintenance Engineering to deliver advanced Mechatronics lab courses to address the shortage of Mechatronics and Robotics Technicians. The labs provide talent with real-world equipment training, professional skills practice, and application, bridging the gap between theoretical learning and job readiness.
Get Creds | Actionable and Scalable Creds
The second step, “Get Creds”, simplifies the confusion of quickly getting qualified for open technician jobs. These paths blend traditional degree credits, noncredit courses, industry credentials, certifications, and experience requirements, creating modular options that align with technical job roles. For example, Amazon partnered with Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) to offer Mechatronics and Robotics courses that allow learners to redeem earned credits toward certificates and degrees, acknowledging the knowledge, skills, and experience gained outside traditional college classes, enabling the validation and acceleration of the credentialing process. Get Creds also rewards hands-on and lab-based learning through experience credits applicable to experience requirements in job postings. Get Creds integrates multiple learning format options and paths, offering credentials and experience credits that reflect real-world job requirements.
Get Jobs | Seamless Connection to Jobs
The third and final step, “Get Jobs,” guarantees a direct connection from skills training through credentials to jobs. Directly linking skilling to job opportunities addresses time-to-fill challenges and ensures better job matches. An efficient path from skills training to employment guarantees business continuity and talent retention. For example, Amazon’s Reliability & Maintenance Engineering (RME) Career Roadmap progresses incumbent and new talent through tailored courses that lead directly to roles such as Maintenance Technician and Control System Technician.
Real World Results: A Scalable Path to Skilled Talent
The results are that technicians are job-ready on day 1 with precise technical skills, professional skills, and practical training. Companies reduce cost by not managing each college individually, and significantly reduce time-to-productivity and time-to-fill as new talent pipelines of pre-qualified candidates emerge. Just-in-time hiring without bearing the cost of relocation packages becomes a reality. Learn how companies like Amazon and others have leveraged the S2J model to reduce hiring costs and develop job-ready talent.
Takeaways: Simplify for Scale
The Skills-to-Jobs® three-step approach demonstrates how employers, community and technical colleges, and talent can create scalable solutions to address hands-on technician gaps. At its core, S2J leverages America’s Community and Technical College Network to align training programs with evolving industry needs, offering both accessibility and flexibility for talent and organizations.
- Network Effects: One point of access for companies and colleges to quickly adapt their evolving job requirements and curricula for hiring high-quality, hands-on technician talent and pipelines.
- Art & Science of Technical Training: Skill-up and re-skill internal technician talent faster and more affordably, reducing hiring costs across multiple locations. Without the right talent, companies risk delayed growth and operational inefficiencies. The art and science of training ensures that talent is skilled and prepared for the next wave of innovation.
- Local AND National: Leverage local colleges with your national technician strategy to meet hands-on technician talent needs wherever your operations are. Relocation packages and decentralized training are no longer barriers.
Join the Skills-to-Jobs(R) movement to transform how you develop and acquire top technician talent starting today.
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