Attracting and Retaining the Workforce of the Future
There has been a steady decline of traditional manufacturing apprenticeships in many European countries, creating a real risk for a significant skills gap in our industry.
If manufacturing is not attracting and retaining early talent, this will lead to a skills gap that will ultimately mean less innovation and lower productivity in one of our most vital sectors. So what is the scale of the problem – and what can we do about it? Jack Robinson, SVP & Head of Human Resources at Assa Abloy Opening Solutions EMEIA, explains why the security and access solutions industry needs to focus on attracting new early talent.
It was recently reported in EU Business News that three in five young people would be unlikely to consider a career in manufacturing. When we couple this with the fact that there has been a steady decline of traditional manufacturing apprenticeships in many European countries, it creates a real risk for a significant skills gap in our industry.
Welcoming new talent into manufacturing is increasingly vital to the sector’s long-term success. As existing talented workers retire, we urgently need early talent to pick-up the baton and carry the industry forward, developing our future technologies and helping us to continue our journey to work smarter, safer, and more sustainably.
As early talent enters the workforce, they bring new ways of thinking and different perspectives. While experienced professionals have embraced new technologies over time, early talent often enters the workforce already fluent in digital tools, data-driven systems, and platforms like AI. Together, these complementary strengths can drive innovation and adaptability across the industry.
We are constantly investing in our early talent programs at Assa Abloy Opening Solutions EMEIA. Since 2010, our EMEIA Graduate Program has welcomed over 200 ambitious young professionals onto an 18-month development journey – one that offers real opportunities to learn, grow, and contribute meaningfully to the business.
I have been personally involved in shaping this program over the years and I am proud to say that it has achieved a 5-year retention rate of over 90 % following completion. This is testament to the program’s effective support structures and real commitment to the long-term career prospects of all participants. Since 2022, female representation in STEM roles across our business has grown by 20 %, and women now hold 27 % of management positions. We have ambitious targets to continue to grow female representation.
Further illustrating our focus on creating a workplace that is inclusive and has a real sense of belonging, 85 % of our colleagues now say they feel comfortable being themselves at work. This is 3 % above the industry benchmark, though our target remains 100 %. These outcomes reflect a meaningful cultural shift and the kind of company we are building for the future.
Creating a truly future-focused business culture is an ongoing process. The world is evolving quickly – and so must we. This means constantly improving how we recruit, support, and retain our employees, while continuing to build an industry that reflects the values and expectations of the modern workforce.
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