Any successful business leader knows that having the right team in place is key to building a client base and building a company with real longevity. Hiring the right people and engaging and retaining your employees results in higher company morale, lower employee turnover, and ultimately a stronger bottom line.

Despite the importance of recruiting and sustaining a knowledgeable, skilled workforce, over the last year, business and economic analysts have foreshadowed a growing shortage in skilled labour and specialized workforces.

The sectors that will be most affected by a dwindling talent pool include technology and manufacturing, primarily because these industries require highly skilled, tech savvy staff.

A 2015 American report entitled “The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing 2015 and Beyond” projects that, “Over the next decade, nearly three and a half million manufacturing jobs will likely need to be filled, and the skills gap is expected to result in 2 million of those jobs going unfilled.”

Omega Lift Distributors Inc.’s Greg Pannia, whose father founded Omega Lift, knows firsthand how important a trained workforce is, especially when it comes to innovating, designing and manufacturing advanced machinery. The family-owned business operating out of Bolton, Ontario specializes in developing cutting-edge, all terrain forklifts that Omega Lift manufactures and distributes around the world.

The subject of our conversation with Greg centred around the importance of trained staff when it comes to his company’s success. Needless to say, in speaking with Greg, one can immediately tell how adamant he is in his belief that the long-term success of Omega Lift Distributors has been and will continue to be attributed to the well-trained, skilled labour force the company employs.

Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us.

Greg Pannia, Omega Lift Distributors: It’s my pleasure.

First off, to get a better feel for your company and your hiring process, what do you look for when building your team at Omega Lift?

Greg Pannia, Omega Lift Distributors: As a forklift manufacturer, it’s very important that our employees are versed in the latest technologies and industry innovations because we are always designing new equipment. It’s also crucial that the Omega Lift team is versatile and team focused because we work so closely together. From the engineering department to the design team, we need to work in unison to produce a superior product. That’s key.

There is talk of a possible workforce shortage in the future when it comes to skilled staff. Does this concern you? If the opportunity to hire the staff you need becomes more difficult, how will you find and attract these candidates?

Greg Pannia, Omega Lift Distributors: There is no doubt that there’s a growing scarcity of viable candidates. However, in recent years, I’ve also started to notice that candidates have a broader skill-set and knowledge base, and that’s resulted in more well-rounded hires who are often able to help our company in more than one area. I think this new era of multi-skill set candidate may offset some the loss in workforce numbers.

I also feel that businesses now have more effective tools to search out candidates. Recruiters of course remain very helpful in helping companies connect with candidates who have the right knowledge and experience background. But, now companies can also use a host of online tools to do their own legwork in outreaching to potential employees.

Along that topic, what avenues do you use to find potential Omega Lift employees?

Greg Pannia, Omega Lift Distributors: In terms of finding potential employees, we’ve used web-based job posting sites like Indeed, Canada Careers, and Monster in the past. We’ve also connected with headhunters or recruiters in the area. In addition, we’ve had our employees refer potential hires. So, really, our resources in finding attractive candidates for Omega Lift are pretty varied.

Lastly, what kind of staffing solutions do you think manufacturing companies like Omega Lift will enjoy in the future? Over the next ten years, do you think it will be easier for companies that produce advanced machinery to find trained staff?

Greg Pannia, Omega Lift Distributors: As I was saying before, I think the next wave of skilled staff will continue to have a broad skill set which may result in the need for less employees. At the heart of the issue is the need to invest and encourage young people to pursue science, technology, manufacturing and engineering fields, not just for companies like Omega, but for the advancement of the country. If we encourage those types of studies it won’t be hard at all to find the skilled work force we need.

Thank you so much for your time.

Greg Pannia, Omega Lift Distributors: Thank you!