Short of staff, but don’t just hire anyone – Richard Simpson of Furnace Engineering

Like most Australian manufacturers in post-Covid Australia in 2023, Richard Simpson, Managing Director at Notting Hill, Victoria manufacturer Furnace Engineering, is having trouble hiring staff.

Labour and skills shortages have become an everyday refrain, but for Simpson it is not just a matter of taking on anyone – he has learned that can be a mistake.

“You know, those times when you take someone on because you are just desperate…” he leaves the sentence to hang as it needs no answer.

For Simpson and others finding the right, staff – staff that want to work in an engineering business – is hard, while nurturing their skills development and keeping them is even harder.

While Furnace Engineering was recently named among Australia’s Australia’s 50 most innovative manufacturers by @AuManufacturing, Simpson complements his workforce development interests inside his business with an involvement as a Council Member of Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology.

How companies are overcoming workforce and skills shortages, including through the use of automation and technology is the subject of @AuManufacturing’s upcoming webinar on automation, smart data and workforce shortages.

To be held on Tuesday, 29 August at 11am eastern time, @AuManufacturing and Epicor will host an online webinar featuring a CEO panel moderated by editor Peter Roberts on manufacturer experiences and the challenges they face.

In the panel discussion, we will hear from Simpson and industry leaders Greg O’Loan, the Regional Vice President of Epicor in Australia and New Zealand, Gavin Dunwoodie and Patrick Ferron, Financial Controller at Great Western Manufacturing.

Register your interest in attending – here.

Picture: Richard Simpson

This webinar is brought to you with the support of Epicor