Mentoring in Manufacturing Mentoring in Manufacturing
What research says about passing on factory know-how through mentoring.
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
An aging workforce
Factory experts are nearing retirement
In EU manufacturing, 6.2 million workers are aged 55 to 64, and 2.2 million under 25.
- 15 to 24 2.2M2.2M
- 55 to 64 6.2M6.2M
- 65 and over 0.6M0.6M
The picture in the US
Factory workforces are older than average
In the US, the median manufacturing worker is 43.9 years old, against 42.1 overall.
How know-how travels
Know-how travels from person to person
Tacit know-how moves informally, and mentoring and storytelling are two ways it travels.
- Written procedures the explicit part
- Mentoring learning by working together
- Storytelling lessons from past cases
What makes retention work
Four factors shape knowledge retention
A review groups them into the knowledge, the people, their relationship and the setting.
- The knowledge how tacit, how critical
- The people expert and successor
- The relationship trust between them
- The setting time and support at work
Learning both ways
Young and experienced staff teach each other
At a car maker, both generations brought expert, practical, social and metacognitive knowledge.
- Expert knowledge
- Practical knowledge
- Social knowledge
- Learning how to learn
Three phases of learning
Expect three phases of shared learning
Over three years, what each side learned from the other changed from phase to phase.
- Familiarization getting to know each other
- Assimilation trading know-how
- Detachment growing independent
Apprenticeships
Give apprentices room to learn
UK firms ranged from expansive to restrictive in how apprentices took part and developed.
- Expansive more ways to take part and grow
- Restrictive fewer chances to learn
Successors named early
Pair each expert with a successor
Start the pairing well before retirement, so both have time on real tasks.
Mentoring around shifts
Build mentoring into shift work
Plan meetings around shifts, and use real problems from the line as topics.
- Pairs share a shift
- Time together on the shop floor
- Improvement ideas as topics
- Short check-ins at shift handover
Sources
The research behind this presentation
- Eurostat (2026) Employed persons by sex, age and economic activity (NACE Rev. 2), dataset lfsa_egan2 Eurostat, European Union Labour Force Survey, data for 2024
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Employed people by detailed industry and age, Current Population Survey table 18b, 2025 annual averages U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Swap, W., Leonard, D., Shields, M. & Abrams, L. (2001) Using mentoring and storytelling to transfer knowledge in the workplace Journal of Management Information Systems, 18(1), 95-114
- Burmeister, A. & Deller, J. (2016) Knowledge retention from older and retiring workers: What do we know, and where do we go from here? Work, Aging and Retirement, 2(2), 87-104
- Gerpott, F. H., Lehmann-Willenbrock, N. & Voelpel, S. C. (2017) A phase model of intergenerational learning in organizations Academy of Management Learning & Education, 16(2), 193-216
- Fuller, A. & Unwin, L. (2003) Learning as apprentices in the contemporary UK workplace: Creating and managing expansive and restrictive participation Journal of Education and Work, 16(4), 407-426
Start with the experts closest to retirement
List what only they know, then name a successor for each.