Millennials are playing a growing role in the engineering workforce. Firms that want to prepare these employees for future leadership roles must consider their growth and development. They must also consider how to attract new talent. Culture and training play essential roles in attracting and engaging millennials.
Culture the starting point when recruiting engineers
A recent report from the Lehigh Valley Business Journal report explained that the large number of older workers leaving the engineering workforce, combined with technological changes across the engineering sector, changes the culture. As more millennials begin their professional careers, organizations need to alter the way they work. This can include creating flexible office hours, developing a clear sense of mission, culture and vision, creating casual monthly reviews and making the organization a more fun place to work. The news source explained that all of these changes add up to make engineering firms the kinds of places that millennials will want to work.
Creating an attractive work culture
A Consulting-Specifying Engineer report reinforced the overarching message that culture plays a key role in getting millennial engineers on board. In the report, the president of an engineering firm featuring more than 200 employees, explained that the culture issue has been so great that he has had to change the way the organization operates. The company has taken on some creative training and internal education strategies to not only create a new atmosphere in the office, but also prepare young, millennial workers for future leadership roles.
Elearning as a component of cultural change
Replacing classroom learning and corporate educational structures with flexible, engaging and intuitive training materials can set a foundation for cultural change. This not only lets you help millennials develop advanced skills quickly, but it also shows them that you are willing to use contemporary technologies and techniques in the workplace. It also shows that your organization is working to create a more modern culture to embrace millennial engineers and be an attractive place to work. Having a strong eLearning program can pay major dividends during the recruiting process as it shows prospective engineers that you care about their long-term development and want to offer opportunities that fit their operational style.
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