Onboarding in Manufacturing: A Skill-Adaptive Approach

Manufacturing is changing fast, and with that comes the need for a more adaptable, highly skilled workforce. But many manufacturers struggle with a familiar challenge—how to attract, develop, and retain the talent they need to stay ahead. A recent study by Deloitte estimates that by 2033, an additional 3.8 million employees could be needed in the U.S. alone. Yet, as the demand for higher-level skills rises, nearly half of these jobs may remain unfilled.

There are a few factors contributing to this workforce gap:

• An aging workforce: As experienced workers retire, they take decades of knowledge and expertise with them.
• Higher turnover rates: Younger generations tend to switch jobs more frequently, making talent retention even more complex.
• Competition for talent: Manufacturing often competes with more attractive industries like tech, making it harder to draw in top talent.
• The complexity of modern manufacturing: the World Economic Forum predicts that 40% of current skill requirements in advanced manufacturing will evolve over the next five years, emphasizing the need for continuous learning and adaptation.also demands a diversely skilled workforce.
• Training needs: Training technical profiles requires a phased approach, a continuous training path that includes both foundational qualifications and practical, on-the-job training.

In such a landscape, how can manufacturers develop a workforce that can not only meet today’s needs but also be ready for tomorrow? Companies need an employee-centered approach that goes beyond basic training, fostering a culture of continuous learning and development. From day one on the shop floor, employees should be able to grow their skills while staying aligned with the latest industry standards and practices.

This is where Azumuta comes in. Unlike other systems that focus on isolated training features, Azumuta offers a unique, all-in-one solution that supports the workforce’s entire journey, from onboarding through to on-the-job training. It seamlessly guides employees through every stage and its skill-adaptive digital work instructions are tailored to each worker’s expertise, creating a personalized learning path that keeps them aligned with the latest industry standards.

Onboarding Training in Manufacturing

Building a skilled workforce begins with a strong onboarding process. It typically takes 1 to 3 months for new operators to reach full productivity, and research shows that companies with structured onboarding see 62% higher productivity in new hires. This highlights the importance of not just introducing new employees to their roles but doing so in a way that ensures they are equipped with the skills they need from day one.

Typically, onboarding in manufacturing follows a phased approach:

1. Basic qualifications: Employees learn key concepts such as safety protocols, equipment operation, and standard procedures.
2. On-the-job training: Employees then move from theory to practice, applying their knowledge in real-world settings.

With a well-structured onboarding process, companies can significantly reduce this time while increasing long-term productivity.

1. Basic Qualifications: The Foundation of Workforce Training

New hires in manufacturing typically begin by acquiring essential qualifications, which form the foundation for more advanced, hands-on training. These qualifications often involve safety protocols, equipment operation, and basic procedures and are formalized with certificates.

HR usually oversees this process, ensuring employees meet foundational standards before on-the-job training. Training can be delivered through structured programs, including video tutorials, simulations, or quizzes via Learning Management Systems (LMS). However, managing and updating these qualifications can be challenging, as HR is often disconnected from daily operations on the shop floor. This gap can complicate tracking and maintaining accurate training records.

Managing these qualifications isn’t without its difficulties, such as:

• Disorganized record-keeping: Tracking qualifications across different systems or filing cabinets can lead to misplaced documents.
• Inefficient tracking: Using static Excel files makes it difficult to monitor employee progress and identify skill gaps.
• Limited visibility: Qualifications are often siloed within HR, disconnected from the shop floor.
• Poor communication: Without a centralized system, coordination between HR and other departments is often slow and inefficient.
• Compliance risks: Inadequate tracking can lead to compliance issues, resulting in fines or penalties.

These inefficiencies can delay onboarding, leave gaps in training, or even result in unqualified employees starting roles.

How Azumuta Manages Basic Qualifications

Azumuta offers a solution to these challenges by providing a centralized, seamless system for managing basic qualifications. Within its Skill Matrix & Training module, the platform allows companies to track training records, certifications, and qualifications with ease.

Here’s how Azumuta addresses common inefficiencies:

By centralizing qualifications and linking them with on-the-job training, Azumuta ensures a smooth transition for employees from foundational learning to real-world application.

2. On-the-job Training: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice

After completing basic training and obtaining essential qualifications, employees transition to on-the-job training to further develop their skills. While qualifications demonstrate a worker’s knowledge, such as experience, degrees, or certifications, skills are the practical abilities gained through hands-on experience that drive effective performance on the shop floor.

Manufacturers rely heavily on this hands-on approach. The most common methods include shadowing experienced workers, step-by-step demonstrations, job rotation, simulation training, or coaching and mentoring. Standardized work instructions often supplement these approaches, providing a framework for learning and performing tasks. These instructions outline the steps in a process, the required tools and equipment, and the quality standards to be met.

However, challenges remain:

• Different learning paces: Workers learn at varying speeds and have different levels of experience.
• Inconsistent training: Training quality depends heavily on the supervisor’s expertise.
• Work overload: Supervisors often struggle to balance their tasks with training responsibilities.
• Inconsistent documentation: Verbal instructions can lead to discrepancies, especially across different teams.
• Outdated methods: Paper manuals quickly become outdated, and verbal instructions don’t engage employees or ensure consistent performance.

Overlooking these challenges can lead to wasted resources and less effective training. With issues like skill gaps, high turnover, and an aging workforce, the need for more efficient and flexible training solutions is becoming more important in manufacturing.

How Azumuta Optimizes On-the-job Training

Besides managing qualifications, Azumuta offers a complete, digital approach that helps tackle the obstacles of on-the-job training. By integrating with digital work instructions, the platform ensures that new hires receive consistent training from day one, streamlining the transition from initial learning to full productivity on the shop floor.

Azumuta approaches on-the-job training by integrating the skill matrix with digital work instructions. Skill-adaptive work instructions guide employees in learning, developing, or mastering tasks based on their experience level. For instance, the platform’s adaptive digital work instructions can be tailored to each employee’s proficiency, allowing experienced workers to bypass basic steps while providing detailed guidance to those who are less experienced.By aligning instruction steps with each operator’s skill level, these instructions enhance learning outcomes and reduce onboarding time.

Advanced skill-tracking allows managers to monitor each employee’s progress, ensuring tasks are aligned with their qualifications. This not only enhances the onboarding experience but ensures employees are always working within their competency level.

With these features, Azumuta allows for a smooth integration of work instructions and skill tracking. Here’s how the system works:

Digital Work Instructions

Digital work instructions are the backbone of Azumuta’s approach, offering a flexible, adaptable solution to meet the diverse needs of modern manufacturing. These instructions not only enhance efficiency but also ensure that training is consistent, clear, and accessible to all employees.

Key features include:

• Visual learning tools: Azumuta integrates images, 3D models, and videos into instructions, making training more engaging and accessible for workers with different learning styles, from visual learners to hands-on operators.
• Customizable content: Instructions can be easily tailored to fit specific product versions or processes, reducing the need for multiple sets of documentation and ensuring that every worker has relevant, up-to-date guidance.
• Multi-lingual support: With instructions available in multiple languages, Azumuta ensures smooth communication and knowledge sharing across global teams, removing language barriers in international operations.
• Skill-aligned training: By connecting with the skill matrix, Azumuta tailors tasks and instructions to match each worker’s proficiency level. This ensures that employees are neither overwhelmed nor under-challenged, streamlining the training process and reducing errors on the shop floor.

This approach is essential in today’s global manufacturing environment, where operations frequently span multiple locations, languages, and skill levels. Azumuta’s digital work instructions help create a cohesive, efficient system that keeps employees aligned and productive, no matter where they are.

The Benefits of a Skill-Adaptive Approach

Integrating skills and work instructions into one seamless system brings significant advantages for manufacturers. By using a unified platform like Azumuta, companies can streamline their training processes and improve overall efficiency.

Consistent onboarding

A skill-adaptive approach ensures that every new hire, regardless of location or department, receives the same high-quality training. This consistency helps standardize operations and prevents knowledge gaps that can occur when training is done manually or unevenly.

Time efficiency

Automation takes care of tracking and data entry, freeing up time for managers and HR teams to focus on more strategic tasks. Instead of manually updating qualifications or chasing paper trails, the system handles these details, improving accuracy and speed.

Improved collaboration

A centralized platform promotes better communication between HR, production, and other departments. Everyone has access to the same real-time data, reducing delays and miscommunication, and ensuring that training goals are aligned with operational needs.

End-to-end tracking

The system monitors the full development path of employees, from onboarding to skill development, providing managers with clear insights into each worker’s progress. This visibility helps ensure that employees continue to grow within their roles and stay aligned with company objectives.

Reduced turnover

When employees feel supported in their development through ongoing training and skill-building opportunities, they are more likely to stay with the company long term. This approach not only boosts morale but also creates a more stable, engaged workforce.

Reduced onboarding time

With tailored instructions based on each employee’s skill level, new hires can become productive more quickly. This personalized approach ensures that employees aren’t overwhelmed with unnecessary information but can focus on mastering the tasks relevant to their role.

Cost savings

By reducing employee turnover and shortening onboarding time, companies save on hiring, training, and operational costs. A more streamlined, efficient training process also leads to fewer errors and higher overall productivity, making the investment in a skill-adaptive system pay off in the long run.

Incorporating a skill-adaptive approach not only makes training more effective but also supports long-term business goals by improving workforce retention, productivity, and overall performance.

How Skill-Adaptive Digital Work Instructions Benefits Manufacturers

Blitz

Blitz is a Belgian start-up that manufactures tailor-made charging solutions. Blitz onboarded new operators using traditional methods, such as individualized mentoring and job-shadowing. These methods resulted in variability in training quality, reliance on memory for instructions, and mentors’ reduced productivity. The limited onboarding time caused operators to specialize in only one workstation, leading to production backlogs during absences.

Azumuta’s Digital Work Instructions transformed this process by reducing training time from a week to half a day. The platform provided intuitive, visual instructions accessible anytime, enhancing operators’ versatility and enabling them to work across multiple stations. This ensured continuous production and improved overall employability.

WAAK

WAAK creates job opportunities for those facing barriers to the regular labor market. They produce and assemble customized solutions like cooker hoods and ping-pong tables. Similar to Blitz, their highly customizable production process requires tailored work instructions for employees.

Since WAAK works with non-native speakers, people with disabilities, and individuals with limited reading skills, visually supported instructions are necessary. Azumuta’s work instructions support on-the-job training, enabling employees to switch tasks quickly and efficiently, minimizing training time, and maintaining quality despite diverse customer and product demands.

Integrating Digital Work Instructions with Skill Management

As the manufacturing industry deals with challenges like an aging workforce, high turnover, and fast-evolving technology, a skills-focused, tech-driven training approach is becoming more important for long-term success. Deloitte notes that companies using this strategy are more likely to hit financial targets, improve efficiency, and keep top talent, giving them a clear advantage in a competitive market.

Digitizing the entire training process—from initial qualifications to on-the-job learning—provides tailored guidance for each employee, speeding up onboarding and helping new hires get up to speed quickly. It also supports ongoing skill development, ensuring employees continue to grow in their roles.

By integrating digital work instructions with skill tracking, businesses can create a more efficient and flexible training system. This reduces inefficiencies, lightens the load for supervisors, and ensures that training aligns with business goals.

Incorporating this kind of adaptive, digital training system makes it easier to stay efficient, develop talent, and keep up with industry demands.