The report highlights what machine builders can do to alleviate the lack of skilled labor in manufacturing

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Cleveland – June 27, 2025 – Eaton, Intelligent Power Management Company, has published a new report from S&P Global Market Intelligence 451 research examining the scope of the skill gap and its impact on the mechanical construction industry and suggesting several mitigation measures.

While machine builders in North America and Europe face unprecedented challenges as the demand for increasingly complex industrial machines grows, the pool of skilled workers with expertise in machine construction continues to shrink. The report, dubbed “The Impact of Labor Deficits on Machine Builders,” is based on research data obtained from 300 mechanical building experts in the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

Important findings:

79% said that the lack of skills has had a major or very significant impact on organizational operations. The majority of machine builders (60%) are 1%-10% of positions, with the third showing an even higher percentage of currently open positions (11-25%) showing 40%.

The impact of these challenges is widely felt, as evidenced by the range of machines that respondents make. Those products are found throughout the manufacturing of electrical equipment. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Material handling system. Food and beverage processing systems. Agricultural equipment; pumps and compressors.

Machine builders recognize challenges within their customer base that are affected by a lack of manufacturing skills. High-quality, high-performance machines reduce customer machine management and maintenance requirements, reduce the impact of skill shortages, and reduce operational costs. New business models, such as offering products as a service, could hold some of the answers of machine builders and their customers over the long term, but expanding training and high-end skills budgets could also be part of the solution.

Simone Gardosi, Mechanical Construction Segment Leader at EMEA, the Eton electrical sector, said: “This report is a wake-up call and shows that labor shortages are one of the biggest challenges facing the mechanical construction industry in both North America and Europe. It is a global problem requiring a global solution that can be provided to machine building customers.”

“We’re excited to announce that we’re a great place to go,” said Molly Jenks, vice president of Eaton’s North American Sales segment. “While machine builders are directly affected by a lack of skills, they also retain the key to helping customers overcome the side effects of labour crunch.

David Immerman, consulting analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence 451 Research, concluded on the report.

About Eaton

Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life for people everywhere. We manufacture products for the data centers, utilities, industrial, commercial, machine construction, residential, aerospace and mobility markets. We are led by our commitment to doing our business right, running sustainably and helping our customers manage their power – Todai and the future state. By leveraging the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges and help build a more sustainable society for today’s people and generations.

Eaton, founded in 1911, continued to evolve to meet the changing and expanding needs of stakeholders. In 2024, it had revenue of nearly $25 billion and serves customers in over 160 countries.

Download the full report