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Kronos Contributes to Closing the Manufacturing Workforce Skills Gap
[March 22, 2016]

Kronos Contributes to Closing the Manufacturing Workforce Skills Gap


Kronos Incorporated today announced its continued commitment to help close the manufacturing workforce skills gap through the announcement of spring 2016 recipients of the Dr. Sherrie Ford Manufacturing as a Career Path scholarship. Committed to supporting the next generation of the workforce, Kronos (News - Alert), along with the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME), funds the scholarship, which invests in students interested in pursuing careers in manufacturing.

News Facts

  • To date, 40 students have been awarded the scholarship and are enrolled in leading manufacturing-related university programs including California Polytechnic State Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oregon Institute of Technology, Purdue University, Rochester Institute of Technology (News - Alert), University of Florida, University of Maine, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
  • Over the next decade, nearly three-and-a-half million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled and the skills gap is expected to result in two million of those jobs going unfilled.1 In addition to retirements, other factors that contribute to the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers include a lack of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) skills among workers and an undesirable image of the manufacturing industry among newer generations.
  • To further support the next generation of the manufacturing workforce and to help close the skills gap, Kronos also sponsors Manufacturing Day, an annual event that occurs in October in the U.S. During this event, manufacturers open their doors to demonstrate the potential of modern manufacturing and educate the public on the opportunities around a career in manufacturing.

Supporting Quotes

  • Kylene Zenk-Batsford, senior manager, manufacturing practice group, Kronos
    "Manufacturing is vital to any country's economy and in the U.S. alone, the industry supports nearly 18 million jobs. Yet many high school and college students are not aware of the diverse career opportunities that the industry has to offer. At Kronos, we help global manufacturers optimize their biggest asset and competitive advantage - the workforce. For this reason, we are passionate about taking strides toward helping address the manufacturing skills gap and we are excited to see that the Dr. Sherrie Ford (News - Alert) scholarship is playing a role in this."
  • Rebecca Shionis, scholarship recipient, University of Florida


    "Receiving the Dr. Sherrie Ford Manufacturing as a Career Path scholarship was hugely beneficial in launching my professional career as an engineer and has allowed me great exposure into my field, both through my education and mentors. Since graduation, I secured a job at Emerson (News - Alert) Electric and am excited to join the organization. I am extremely grateful to have been a recipient and encourage all students interested in pursuing a STEM education to apply."
  • Kaitlyn Raffier, scholarship recipient, University of Maine
    "I am studying chemical engineering and am fortunate to have been selected as a Dr. Sherrie Ford Manufacturing as a Career Path scholarship recipient and be given the opportunity to pursue a career in manufacturing. I plan to participate in two co-ops at paper mills during my time at the University of Maine to learn more about the latest in manufacturing technologies, with the hopes of leveraging and improving upon those during my career."

Supporting Resources

About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos is the global leader in delivering workforce management solutions in the cloud. Tens of thousands of organizations in more than 100 countries - including more than half of the Fortune 1000® - use Kronos to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity. Learn more about Kronos industry-specific time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, HR and payroll, hiring, and labor analytics applications at www.kronos.com. Kronos: Workforce Innovation That Works™.


© 2016 Kronos Incorporated. All rights reserved. Kronos and the Kronos logo are registered trademarks and Workforce Innovation That Works is a trademark of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. See a complete list of Kronos trademarks. All other trademarks, if any, are property of their respective owners.

Footnote 1: 2015 Skills Gap Report, Deloitte (News - Alert) Development LLP and the Manufacturing Institute, October 2015


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