- According to the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) and the Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX), 75% of companies consider that their main problem is the difficulty in filling vacancies, the shortage of qualified workers and staff turnover. .
- 3M convened a panel to discuss and reflect on the issue, Siemens México and the México collective. How are we doing? they joined the chat.
- 3M State of Science confirms that these trades carry a negative stigma and are therefore not the first choice among young people.
Mexico as of August 30, 2023.- The company 3M presented the docuseries Skilled, an audiovisual piece that exposes the stories of 4 people, their motivations and talent to exercise their trades, as well as their continuous effort to improve themselves. Skilled emerges to trigger the conversation about the realities of skilled trades and address stereotypes that may discourage people from exercising them. The project was inspired by 3M State of Science Indexa global study confirming that while workers in skilled trades are widely respected, most believe there is a negative stigma around these professions, with 9 out of 10 people believing that more individuals would seek skilled trades if the perception of such work changed.
Within the framework of the event, a panel was held under the theme “Skilled Trades Myths and Facts“, with the participation of Brenda Flores Cabrera, analyst of the Mexico Collective, how are we doing?, Juan Carlos Diazpeople & organization head at Siemens Mexico & Central America and Fernanda Guarro, general director of 3M Mexico; where each one provided relevant information and a call to reflection in order to claim the importance of qualified trades at the perception and remuneration level.
Fernanda Guarro, director of 3M Mexico commented: “According to the SOSI study developed by 3M, 85% of those surveyed recognize the importance of continuing to develop skilled trades because they are an important source to keep industries alive. In manufacturing plants those in skilled trades helped keep supply chains resilient and running during Covid-19. Everyone talks about AI, digitization and automation in plants, but those plants that we envision in the future will need to have a qualified operating team to keep them alive.”
Subsequently, Juan Carlos Díaz pointed out that “education is key for any country. The biggest challenge is for talent to be trained in the demands of the market. Promoting the talent of Mexico is a commitment of Siemens, we have partnered with local governments and universities to create triple helix collaborative ecosystems (academia, government, private sector) to strengthen the capacities of young people”
Brenda Flores Cabrera from the Mexico Collective How are we doing? She indicated that “one of the most important challenges in the dynamics of the trades is that they must be formalized and offer social security. In the current context, we must recognize that we are a manufacturing country where, according to INEGI data, this is the predominant sector with more than 22% of economic activity. For this reason, giving greater relevance to technical skills and professionalization of trades, with an emphasis on gender equality, will have benefits at the country level. In particular, this would not only represent personal improvement for those who work in specialized trades, but a path of innovation and progress at the country level; technical capabilities will promote a more dynamic and productive economy.”
There was also the presence of Adriana Rius, director of communication for the Americas of 3M and Annie Martínez, lighting and stage technique, whose story is told in the docuseries. They both had a talk in which they shared Annie’s personal experience, what challenges she had to face to break through in an industry, as well as the path she traveled to reach The Electric Amazonsthe first group of lighting and stage staff focused on employing and being a platform for women.
According to the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) and the Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX) who carried out an analysis that includes figures on the lack of personnel in companies, where 75% of them consider that their main problem lies Due to the difficulty in filling vacancies, the scarcity of finding qualified workers and the turnover of personnel, it is essential to encourage technical careers to increase their enrollment and linkage with the private sector to achieve synergy to maintain competitiveness and promote a better quality of life. in the social environment.
Companies must begin to communicate the importance of skilled trades in Latin America, break the stigma around them to prevent the problem that today already affects the economy of several countries worldwide from continuing to escalate.
“Skilled” was directed by Colombian documentary producer Julio Palacio and produced by Christine Arena (“Let Science Speak,” “Not the Science Type”) of Generous Films and 3M.
The documentary “Skilled” is available at Youtube, Amazon Prime Video and Roku TV. If you want to know more about 3M initiatives linked to trades, visit https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/sustainability-us/social/community-engagement/skilled-trades/
