Based on the findings, Staub estimates that among all manufacturers in the 14-county Dayton Region Manufacturers Association-member region, there may be about 7,000 openings.
“We can’t find the people with the right skills. They’re just not out there,” Staub told the Dayton Daily News on Wednesday.
“That is absolutely a problem,” said Dennis McLaughlin, head of Clark Schaefer Hackett’s manufacturing consulting group.
McLaughlin said high school students and veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan need to be convinced that manufacturing offers good careers. He also said community colleges and technical schools need to be enlisted further to help fill the need for workers.
McLaughlin said companies with a chronic need for skilled workers should contact area schools and “tell them what you need.”
Bumping up starting pay won’t necessarily work. That will simply steal skilled people from other companies, he said.
To operate a CNC (computer numeric control) machine, workers should be able to quickly perform math calculations and must be able to program the machine, Staub said.
“Good math and good common sense. Those are the two basic skills needed,” he said.
The survey found that entry-level positions pay $20,000 to $30,000 a year, while “skilled” positions pay $40,000 to $80,000 a year.
Fourteen percent of respondents said they hire only experienced applicants. Nearly half — 48 percent — said they will offer in-house training, while nearly a third — 31 percent — said they will pay for worker education.
Other findings include:
• 64.9 percent of respondents plan to hire one to five workers in 2012.
• 13.4 percent plan to add six to 10 jobs this year.
• 52 percent of job openings have gone unfilled for two months to a year.
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