Before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the workforce gap was the biggest issue the commercial baking industry was staring down. While the pandemic may have eclipsed it for a time, the issue of finding and keeping skilled labor is not going away any time soon.
In the first episode of season four, Since Sliced Bread spoke with Marjorie Hellmer, president, Cypress Research Associates, about the Workforce Gap Study commissioned by the American Bakers Association and the American Society of Baking in 2016 to fully understand the problem the baking industry faces. We break down the extent of the skills gap as well as the shortage of labor.
Drawing on her additional industry research and other sources’ findings about manufacturing in the past four years, Ms. Hellmer was able to share how things have evolved and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the workforce issue.
“It’s clear that COVID is pressing the industry into adopting even more best practices in how companies are doing business far sooner than they might otherwise have done, which is a good thing,” she said.
Listen to Since Sliced Bread as we analyze what the workforce issues are and how the baking industry can address them.
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