One of the most pressing challenges facing the workplace today is the lack of a skilled workforce. Throughout the last year, I have marshaled every resource available to me to shine the spotlight on the growing skills gap that exists in the manufacturing industry.

We are facing a shortage of workers who possess basic life skills and a strong work ethic to fill advanced manufacturing jobs and the time has come to look outside of the box and explore non-traditional talent pools. And, I believe that our military veterans can come to the rescue once again for our country.

Let me take a moment to explain more in-depth the challenges in the workplace. The potential workforce is lacking in the basic life skills such as math, science and even communications skills.

For instance, there have been instances where employees must be told to call into work if they are sick. It’s not something they do on purpose, but rather lack the understanding, frame of mind and understanding of a team. Even worse, many manufacturers only have digital clocks in their shop room floors due to the fact that some workers simply can’t read the hands of a traditional clock.

Finally, we are in desperate need of workers who have pride in their job responsibilities, their work product and their employer. This has a significant impact on the industry since most manufactures, just like me, provide necessary products in order for larger pieces of equipment to work.

Military veterans are the perfect match since they embody the types of skills we are looking for in new hires. Veterans have had significant experience with technology operating complex equipment. These skills are critical in working on the advanced manufacturing equipment that exists in manufacturing plants across America.

In addition, they can multi-task and our problem solvers since this is what they have been trained to do by the military each and every day. Veterans also take enormous pride in their country and their work product and can even mentor younger, less experienced workers who do not share this same view.

As many have said, veterans represent the best of all of us. Finally, I speak from first-hand experience as someone who employs veterans and they are some of my most productive workers.

Unfortunately, this rather obvious fit has been harder to accomplish than you might think. In fact, many veterans struggle to find any job at all upon re-entry into civilian life. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that nearly 15 percent of veterans aged 20-24 were jobless. This is three times the national average. As recently as August 2007, CBS News reported that veterans who served in Iraq are struggling to find work.

So, what is the problem?

According to a survey conducted by CNN, one of the primary challenges veterans site in finding gainful employment is inexperience with effectively communicating military skills to non-military audiences. In the same vein, employers are not often knowledgeable about how military skills translate to the workplace. This is a tremendous problem both for our veterans and employers.

A resume that doesn’t translate effectively into the skills employers are looking for is a real problem. For example, I recently reviewed a resume of a veteran who possesses the type of skills that make him a well-qualified candidate; however, he was turned down time and again for numerous jobs. His resume failed to capture the essence of his experience in terms an employer could understand.

This problem cannot be taken lightly since I have spoken to countless veterans who have experienced similar problems with seeking employment.

I have been working with veterans into translating their resumes into language that makes sense to employers and correctly outlines how their skills can help employers. In fact, I hope to share examples of how veterans can use certain lingo and other techniques to make their resumes resonate with employers.

As a nation, we must work to build structured programs to recruit and attract veterans to the manufacturing industry as they are the key to establishing a pipeline of workers that we can tap into for generations to come. United States military veterans have defended our soil. It is time we realize that they may also be the key to building defenses in our economy as well.

Sandra Westlund-Deenihan is president of Quality Float Works, Inc., a Schaumburg-based manufacturing company that produces hollow float metal balls. She serves on the board of directors of the National Association of Manufacturers and Tooling & Manufacturing Association. Recently, Quality Float Works, Inc. received a Small Business Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Contact her at sandy@metalfloat.com or at 847-781-8960.