AEM members building workforce solutions from the classroom to the career path

By Ty Higgins, Ohio Ag Net

Finding enough skilled workers remains one of the biggest challenges facing equipment manufacturers, dealers, and businesses across agriculture and construction. Yet according to Julie Davis, senior vice president of people strategy with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the industry’s response has evolved far beyond simply acknowledging the problem. Today, many manufacturers are taking deliberate action to strengthen the workforce pipeline at every stage, from introducing middle school students to technical careers to creating long-term development opportunities for experienced employees.

The effort is highlighted in a new AEM workforce development report that showcases how equipment manufacturers are tackling workforce challenges through innovative recruiting, employee retention strategies, and educational partnerships.

For many employers, success starts with rethinking how they recruit new talent.

“The strategy that is working today is not doing one thing,” Davis said. “It is doing multiple, multiple things.”

Rather than relying solely on traditional recruiting methods, manufacturers are expanding their reach into a variety of talent pools and community organizations. Davis said successful companies are building relationships with organizations such as FFA and SkillsUSA while also strengthening connections with technical colleges, community colleges, and universities.

“You really need to be doing multiple different pathways,” she said.

Some companies are even finding success through unconventional channels.

“I’ve had some companies that are going on their moms’ Facebook communities and letting moms know that if your student isn’t going to a traditional four-year college, we’ve got careers and training for you with us,” Davis said.

The approach reflects a larger shift in workforce development thinking.

“It is really about being creative and trying different things and not doing the same old things that were done 10 years ago and thinking that’s going to be enough,” she said.

Recruiting efforts today also extend well beyond job postings. As younger generations increasingly research employers before applying, manufacturers must carefully consider how they present themselves to prospective employees.

“The first thing is really realizing that you are being interviewed before even applying,” Davis said.

That means maintaining a professional website, an active social media presence, and a clear representation of company culture.

“You need to be representing yourself and the culture that is important to you so people can see who you are showing up to be,” she said.

Davis also encourages employers to evaluate the language used in job descriptions and the audiences they are targeting. Manufacturers are increasingly looking to attract a broader range of candidates, including veterans, women, and neurodiverse individuals.

“What is the language that you’re using in your job postings?” Davis said. “Is that language that is going to show up as engaging across different diversity sets?”

Advances in technology are also helping employers refine their recruiting strategies. Artificial intelligence can help companies create more targeted job advertisements that appeal to the specific candidates they hope to attract. At the same time, Davis said employers must be realistic about the qualifications they require.

“Ten years ago, you could put in, ‘I want all of these things,'” she said. “Now, you really need to think about what are the things that I want and what are the things that I need.”

While attracting employees is important, retaining them may be even more critical as workforce shortages continue.

Davis said many AEM member companies are investing heavily in employee development programs designed to create clear career pathways and opportunities for advancement.

“A typical job stay is like two to three years,” she said. “If you don’t have a next step for somebody to take, they’re going to take that somewhere else.”

Many employers are shifting their focus away from job titles and toward transferable skills. By identifying and developing employees’ skills across the organization, companies can help workers see multiple paths for advancement.

“Sometimes it’s OK to step parallel if you can, then have a better pathway to move up,” Davis said.

Continuous learning also plays an increasingly important role in retention.

“Learning is lifelong, and younger employees expect to have those shorter bursts of learning available to them,” she said.

Employers do not necessarily need expensive training programs, Davis noted, but they do need to demonstrate a commitment to employee growth.

“It does need to be something that you’re sharing and creating availability for so that they understand that you’re investing in them and helping to develop them in their career,” she said.

Many of the industry’s workforce solutions begin long before individuals enter the labor market. Davis believes outreach to students is essential if manufacturers hope to maintain a strong talent pipeline in the future.

“If you’re not in your middle school or your high school, somebody else is,” she said. “Somebody is talking to your future workforce.”

One of the most successful initiatives AEM supports is CASE for Learning, an organization focused on developing curriculum that introduces students to careers in equipment technology and manufacturing.

“CASE for Learning is an amazing organization that really is focused on creating curriculum,” Davis said.

The curriculum is designed to be flexible enough for schools that may not have traditional career and technical education programs. Courses can be taught by teachers from a variety of disciplines, including mathematics, while still exposing students to technician career opportunities.

“They can have math teachers that are teaching these courses, but it could lead to technician training,” she said.

The program is offered free to high schools, and teacher training opportunities and scholarships are available to support implementation. For rural communities struggling to find technicians and other skilled workers, Davis sees the curriculum as an opportunity to create local workforce pipelines.

“If you are a dealer that lives in a rural community and you are struggling to get technicians, this is a way to get a program of interest happening in your school to help become a pipeline to future technicians,” she said.

As technology rapidly transforms the equipment industry, educational programs are evolving alongside it. Manufacturers frequently express concern that education struggles to keep pace with technological change, but Davis said CASE for Learning is actively working to address that challenge.

“They did actually just create a robotics module that went alongside the technician module that they have,” she said.

Additional modules covering safety and other emerging industry needs have also been developed. Field trips are built into the curriculum, giving students opportunities to visit dealerships and manufacturing facilities where they can experience modern equipment technology firsthand.

“They have these field trips built in where, if you can find a dealer, you actually give the dealer the information that we want to talk about on this field trip to help make those connections and get those kids excited,” Davis said.

Those experiences help students better understand innovations such as automation, autonomy, equipment connectivity, and precision technology.

For Davis, one of the biggest opportunities ahead is simply helping young people recognize the tremendous variety of careers available within the industry.

“There is tremendous earning potential,” she said. “There are tremendously interesting things happening in this space with autonomous vehicles, drones, and technology.”

Many students may not realize that modern agriculture and construction equipment rely heavily on software development, cybersecurity, robotics, and advanced engineering.

“There are hackathons that happen for the ag industry where we get these college students together that are trying to hack into a tractor,” Davis said. “They don’t realize the security and cybersecurity pieces of this now super technological equipment.”

The challenge, she said, is making sure students are aware of those opportunities.

“When you think about ag, and you think about all of this equipment, that’s not something that would necessarily be on a student’s radar,” Davis said. “So, it really becomes our job to tell them about all of the really exciting opportunities.”

Through creative recruiting, stronger career development programs, and partnerships with schools and organizations like CASE for Learning, AEM members are demonstrating that workforce development requires action at every stage of the talent pipeline. Their efforts are helping ensure that the next generation of skilled workers is prepared to support the increasingly advanced equipment industry for years to come.