LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW Lightweighting Job Demand* Tennessee Bi-Monthly Update March and April 2015
Postings over time Top Jobs During March and April 2015, employers in Tennessee posted 7,337 jobs related to lightweighting, up from 5,248 in January and February, and from 3,743 in November and December 2014. Of these approximately 7,000 postings in March and April, almost half advertised an annual salary over $35,000 and 45% required at least a bachelor s degree for employment. Postings for laborers and freight, stock, & material movers once again top the list, and along with demand for maintenance & repair workers, make up over a quarter of lightweighting-related postings in Tennessee. Online ads for lightweighting-related jobs in Tennessee over the past ten months have averaged around 5,000. Lightweighting-related postings were low, as a typical business cycle would predict, during November and December 2014, and increased sharply going into 2015. Posting levels in March and April 2015 have surpassed the September and October 2014 peak, growing 96% compared to late 2014 levels. A complete year of data will provide more insight into lightweighting employer demand. 40% Growth in lightweighting job posts 7.3 TN 50 33 in TN 5 or higher 2
What counts as lightweighting? Over 140 individual occupations are related to lightweighting and can be organized into 3 main occupational groups and 10 sub-groups. (1) Skilled trades jobs include machinists, assembly and operations workers, and skilled materials workers. (2) Administration jobs include procurement and purchasing workers, human safety workers, and logistics workers. (3) Engineering & design jobs include electrical and mechanical engineers, chemical engineers & metallurgy workers, designers and drafters, and process engineers and testers. Occupation Sub-Groups Postings and Employment Analyzing postings and employment sideby-side helps put postings into context. While postings for electrical and mechanical engineers represent 15% of all lightweighting-related job ads in Tennesee, this occupation sub-group accounts for just 5% of all LIFT-related employment in the state. This disparity between demand and employment indicates that this occupation sub-group is in very high demand and employment will likely grow in the near future. On the other hand there are sub-groups where job postings do not match the share of employment. Machinist skilled trades jobs are one example. This subgroup contains 11% of all LIFT-related employment in Tennesee but just 6% of postings. This could be a signal that employer demand is not strong, or that employers are not utilizing online postings as much as other methods to find new workers. For many other occupation sub-groups, the share of postings and current employment shares are roughly equivalent. 3
Spotlight on Engineering & Design During March and April 2015, LIFT s labor market researchers at WIN focused on the LIFT engineering and design occupation cluster, analyzing current employment data from EMSI and supply/demand data from CareerBuilder. Employment In Tennessee, 9% of all lightweighting-related employment is in the engineering and design occupational cluster. With 34,806 workers employed in electrical & mechanical engineering, chemical engineering & metallurgy, design & drafting, and process engineering & testing, the engineering and design occupations are a smaller cluster for in terms of lightweighting employment in Tennessee. 9% Employment in engineering & design Supply/Demand Labor Pressure ** Data for this sub-group was insufficient for full labor pressure analysis In Tennessee, engineering and design occupations, as defined by LIFT, are not the most difficult jobs to hire for, nor are they the easiest. According to CareerBuilder s supply/ demand labor pressure tool, in the past year there were almost 6,000 postings on the website for engineering and design jobs, and about 2,000 jobseekers. The labor pressure metric (shown by the dial on the right side of each graphic) indicates how difficult it is to hire for the specific job, or group of jobs, in the analysis. A number in the yellow or red is more difficult to hire for than number in the green. Mechanical & electrical engineering and process engineering & testing jobs are in the yellow, indicating that supply and demand are not well matched. Supply and demand are better matched for designer and drafter jobs in Tennessee; too few data exist to create a pressure gauge for chemical engineering & metallurgy jobs. 4
Lightweighting Employment in Tennessee Lightweighting-related employment in Tennessee fell slightly between late 2014 and early 2015 estimates. The most recent 2015 estimates show total lightweighting employment at 391,443, just a 0.55% drop from 2014 s 393,340 jobs. With a less than a percentage point decline in lightweighting employment, these jobs still have a bright outlook for future growth. 391K TN Administration Occupations Essential administration jobs related to lightweighting include purchasing materials, ensuring worker safety around machines and with materials, and coordinating and analyzing material and goods movement. While these jobs are primarily focused on administration, all of the workers in this occupation category must have detailed knowledge of materials, goods movement, and worker safety to help ensure smooth and seamless production. During March and April 2015, employers in Tennessee posted 2,194 jobs in logistics, procurement & purchasing, and human safety, representing 30% of total lightweightingrelated job postings in the state. This level of postings for this occupational cluster is a 56% increase over January and February 2015 s 1,406 postings. The in-demand occupations were logistics workers, with 1,675 postings, representing almost a quarter of all lightweighting-related job demand in Tennessee on their own. 5
Skilled Trades Skilled trades workers are the builders and makers of America. They work directly with advanced materials, assemble complicated products, and are experts in welding and machinery. They ensure that designs and plans are carried out to every detail and specification. These workers do everything from welding, to setting and managing computer-numerically-controlled machines, to overseeing manufacturing floors. These skilled workers are essential to lightweighting manufacturing. The 71 individual occupations within this cluster can be split into three distinct occupation sub-groups: machinists, assembly & operations workers, and skilled materials workers. Skilled trades are the most in-demand LIFT occupational cluster in Tennessee, with 3,388 postings during March and April accounting for over 45% of all lightweighting-related job demand in the state. This level of postings is a 39% increase over demand for 2,445 jobs seen in this cluster during the first two months of 2015, and the LIFT skilled trades large share of job demand in Tennessee means that demand in this area will drive growth in lightweighting-related employment. *Data Note: Demand is defined as online job postings by employers in the state specific for this report. 6
Engineering & Design Engineers and industrial designers create the blueprints for all things manufacturing. These workers not only envision the products of the future but also ensure that the products are functional, safe, reliable, and durable. Over 300,000 workers in the LIFT region are employed in engineering and design occupations, representing just over 12% of total lightweighting occupational employment. The 52 individual occupations within this cluster can be split into four distinct occupation sub-groups: electrical & mechanical engineering, chemical engineering & metallurgy, industrial designers & drafters, and process engineering & testing. There were 1,798 engineering and design job postings in Tennesee during March and April 2015, accounting for 24% of all lightweighting-related job demand in the state. However, demand for electrical & mechanical engineering jobs alone account for 15% of the LIFT-related job demand during March and April, with over 1,000 postings. 7
Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT) is a public-private partnership that will develop and deploy advanced lightweight materials manufacturing technologies and implement education and training programs to prepare the workforce. Lightweight materials are increasingly important to the competitiveness of transportation manufacturing sectors, including suppliers in the automobile, aircraft, heavy truck, ship, rail, and defense manufacturing industries. Lighter vehicles for the military, industry, and consumers alike, have better performance and use less fuel. LIGHTWEIGHT INNOVATIONS FOR TOMORROW The LIFT region includes 5 states: Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Integrative education, training, and workforce development is a core, sustained aspect of the Institute's mission. An educated and skilled workforce is critical to the future of manufacturing. Under the direction of Emily Stover DeRocco, LIFT's Education & Workforce Director, the LIFT Workforce & Education Working Group will design and implement a cohesive strategy to deliver the talent necessary to the long-term health of the U.S. and defense industrial bases.