The skills gap in U.S. manufacturing has hit a vast array of industries that are having trouble filling their workforce needs with properly trained workers who can step right in and help companies.

As an example, across the jobs spectrum in the laser industry, from designing equipment, to finding workers to install and repair laser machinery, to manufacturers that need skilled employees on the plant floor, the lack of workers with the necessary skills has become a major problem.

To believe an exhaustive new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the skill level of the American labor force is not merely slipping in comparison to that of its peers around the world, it has fallen dangerously behind.  A new OECD study finds that the US is well behind its global competitors in math, reading, and computer skills.

The highly skilled in the United States earn a much larger wage premium over unskilled workers than in most, if not all, other advanced nations, where regulations, unions and taxes tend to temper inequality. So if the rewards for skills are so high, why is the supply of skilled workers so sluggish?  The answer is not clear.

Socioeconomic status is a barrier. Not only is inequality particularly steep, little is done to redress the opportunity deficit of poorer students. Public investment in the early education of disadvantaged children is meager. Teachers are not paid very well, compared with other countries. And the best teachers tend to end up teaching in affluent schools.

To speed growth, we must close the widening skills gap that exists in all of our industries.  Washington lawmakers do not appear to be inclined to take the proactive lead that is necessary.  This means that large companies and industry organizations will have to take the lead.  That can be accomplished through lobbyists in the capitol or sponsoring training programs.  The question is will private industry take the lead when labor costs are so much lower in other nations?

Sources for this article is news.thomasnet.com/IMT/2013/12/10, The New York Times,OECD