American manufacturers are increasingly finding that prospective workers do not have the skill set required to perform necessary job functions, such as basic math and computer abilities. The so-called “skills gap,” if unresolved, could compromise manufacturers’ ability to stay competitive, according to some industry leaders.

The cause of the gap is multifaceted. Manufacturing activity has increased in the U.S. for nearly a year and with it grows businesses’ need for skilled workers. Exacerbating the shortage is the wave of retiring baby boomers, those Americans born between 1946 and 1964.

To start to fill the gap, companies such as Batesville Tool & Die Inc., which makes metal stampings for vehicles, have turned their attention to attracting and training younger workers.

“We've got six to seven openings all the time, and our turnaround is low,” said Chief Executive Officer Jody Fledderman, one of four panelists that participated in a discussion about the skills gap at the National Press Club Tuesday in Washington. “There are new positions that aren't getting filled. We’re trying to develop young people that can stay in industry for years.” The Batesville, Indiana-based company has partnered with local high schools to develop a technical program to educate students, both in the classroom and on-site, about

work in manufacturing.

U.S. manufacturing employs more than 12 million workers directly, recent figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show. There remain, however, about 600,000 skilled manufacturing jobs unfilled, according to a 2012 study by Deloitte LLP.

The number of open positions could edge even further up as Americans age out of the workforce. By 2030, more than 20 percent of Americans are projected to be aged 65 and over, compared with 13 percent in 2010 and 9.8 percent in 1970, a recent study from the U.S. Census Bureau showed. This further depletes the share of skilled manufacturing laborers, especially among the upper echelons of company management.

“If we can’t fill the skills gap, it’s going to be very difficult to be competitive in the global market,” said Ted Toth, vice president and managing director of manufacturing technologies at Rosenberger-Toth, which manufactures parts for satellites and cellphone towers.

Part of the challenge for manufacturing business leaders in attracting young talent lies in correcting the stigma associated with work in the industry, Toth said.

“To understand the skills gap, we have to understand how the public understands manufacturing,” the head of the New Jersey-based company said. “They see it as a dark, dirty, dangerous industry.”

Toth and Fledderman both said industry leaders must work with communities to provide quality job training to young adults and educate them about manufacturing as a viable alternative to attending to a four-year college after high school. Especially, Toth noted, given the wage advantages.

“Now due to advances in technology, we now define our workers as ‘blue tech workers,’” Toth said. “They utilize technology such as computerized machines and robotics, and also in new and exciting careers in three to four times the minimum wage.”

Regional sentiment among business leaders reflects the national trend. More than 30 percent of New York manufacturers said it had become more difficult to retain skilled workers during the past year, compared with about 8 percent who say it’s gotten easier, according to an April report from the New York Federal Reserve.

The share of businesses saying it has become more difficult grew from almost 24 percent in April 2013, and about 22 percent in the same month in 2012, suggesting the perceived skills gap has widened with time.