The technology of automation is putting a premium on plant employees, but precise training can create masters of the machines.
Recession has been a godsend for staff-strapped processors. An estimated 1.7 million U.S. manufacturing jobs were lost in the last two years, and many of those workers migrated to food and beverage facilities. But unless employers have a program to groom employees with the potential for skill-enhancement training and to upgrade the automation skills of older employees, those employers will soon find themselves in "a bidding war just to maintain minimal customer-service levels," predicts Roger E. Herman, a Greensboro, N.C.-based management consultant.