by tradesmeninsights | May 16, 2012 | Uncategorized
I’ve always been a big supporter of promoting manufacturing and tradesmen jobs. I recently came across a post from a client of ours, PMPA (Precision Machined Products Association). Miles Free, their Director of Industry Research and Technology, writes their blog, Speaking of Precision and I wanted to share his post.
Is now the right time for you to start your career in U.S. Manufacturing?
The phrase “get in on the ground floor” comes to mind…
I found this chart on Global Macro Monitor Blog on WordPress. They look at it for their purposes. Let’s look at it for ours.
I started my manufacturing career in September 1973, near the bottom of the “Nixon Decline.” It wasn’t easy – I had plenty of layoffs – but there was plenty of upside and I went from laborer in a sintering plant through a series of jobs to become, senior plant metallurgist, quality director, plant manager, division director for quality and technology.
Being in the right place at the right time (manufacturing) from 1973 to 1977 allowed me to take advantage of the upside in manufacturing that gave me the momentum to grow my career.
Looking at the chart above, 2012 looks like the exact same opportunity, only better.
Global Macro Monitor lists some of the factors which influenced the chart above:
- Strengthening of the dollar during the 1980′s;
- Globalization;
- Entry of China and India into the global labor force;
- The internet;
- Improved productivity;
- Technological innovation;
- Demographics and worker preferences;
- All of the above.
I speak and meet with precision machining company managers and owners daily.
All are looking for people with skills and talent.
All are investing in training for their proven performers.
Our National Technical Conference last week had over 102 first time attendees.
Twice as many companies offered internships as there were students in our first Right Skills Now class.
A comment I received yesterday on Linked In: “I teach Precision Machining and our students are all getting jobs now and the starting pay is getting better… ”
These are some very strong indicators that now is a great time to start a career in manufacturing.
If you can do the math and solve problems based on your experiences, we’d love to have you in our precision machining industry.
P.S. And even though I characterized it as the “Nixon Decline,” I am not at all holding any president responsible for these.
There are far more important factors at play in this chart than whether or not there is a Donkey or an Elephant in the oval office.
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 27, 2012 | Uncategorized
It’s ironic that every manufacturer or contractor that I talk to have plenty of work to do, but a limited number of qualified people to do it. Mike Rowe recently pointed out that young folks can make up to 100K a year working in a factory according to a recent article on CNN Money.com. The same holds true for other tradesmen like plumbers, electricians and HVAC contractors. These folks can make 60-80K a year, and they can’t ship those jobs across the pond.
These factory jobs aren’t low tech anymore, or are they in dingie old factories. These are high-tech, high-salary jobs running multi-million dollar manufacturing cells using the latest computer technology. Right Skills Now is a program that was started to get both technical schools and colleges to work together to train workforces. Its model can be started anywhere in the country and for various types of jobs.
If we want to have a resurrection of manufacturing jobs here, we need to start letting parents and kids know there are alternatives to a 4-year degree. If you’re a manufacturer or contractor, here are some grass-roots things you can do in your community to promote these kinds of jobs:
- At career days at your schools, volunteer to talk to the kids. Give them the benefits of the opportunities that are available. Make it fun, exciting and cool!
- Work with your trade associations and school guidance counselors to make sure they have the proper info to give to kids.
- Have an open house or career day event and bring local students to your place and show them the opportunities.
What things can you add to the list? We’re all in this together and we need to let young people know about these opportunities.
by tradesmeninsights | Jan 18, 2012 | Uncategorized
One of the biggest issues all of us have is finding good people. People who know what they are doing and can help contribute to the bottom line. In my travels talking with both manufacturers and contractors, top on their list is finding good help. One contractor told me recently finding work isn’t the problem, finding people to do it is!
So whether you’re a manufacturer, distributor or a contractor, what are you doing to play it forward to make sure we have skilled people ready for the work force? Might I suggest you get involved especially on a local level.
- Talk to high school students and show them that there are options to a 4-year college degree.
- Let them know that technicians in the electrical, HVAC or plumbing fields use sophisticated equipment in doing their jobs.
- Let them know they can’t export those kinds of jobs and the rest of us depend on them on a daily basis.
- And oh, by the way, they can make a damn fine living.
For those who want to work in a manufacturing facility, they may be running machining cells worth millions of dollars. In order to compete for those kinds of jobs, you need to be trained and must come to the table with skills like math.
So what are options if we want to be good corporate citizens? There are local trade schools, technical and community colleges that either have or could initiate programs to train future workers. One such program is Skills America which is a regional program that can be taken and adapted to your needs.
More importantly, you can support the schools by giving away scholarships to students in need. Financial help via government loans are drying up. For those who want to improve themselves and contribute to society, what better way of supporting them. Now I’m not talking thousands of dollars in scholarships. What if you could give a few $500-a-year ones? It would help with books and tuition. More importantly, it will send a message to the community about who you are.
Most of you belong to national trades associations and some might have local programs you could participate in. If you can’t find a local source, there are always places like Mike Rowe’s foundation that supports the trades.
The key is now that the economy is starting to turn around, let’s do something that will improve the workforce and eventually come back to help each and every one of us. The key is DO SOMETHING.
by tradesmeninsights | Nov 30, 2011 | Traditional Marketing, Uncategorized
The biggest issue I hear from both contractors and manufacturers is lack of work isn’t the issue, but lack of qualified people to do it is. Right Skills Now may not be the end all but it’s a model that can work for both on a regional basis. I know one of Mike Rowe’s passion is training the professional tradesman and this is a step in the right direction.
According to a Skills Gap study by the Manufacturing Institute, more than 80 percent of U.S. manufacturers can’t find qualified people for the nearly 600,000 skilled production jobs that are currently unfilled.
For American manufacturing to be successful, employers need machinists that have the right skills, and they need those skills now. That is the impetus for a new, fast-track education initiative called Right Skills Now.
The program is an accelerated, 16-week training course for operators of precision machining equipment. It provides classroom and hands-on shop experience to prepare students for immediate employment. It also allows individuals to earn college credit and national industry certifications.
One of the founders of Right Skills Now is Darlene Miller, CEO and owner of Permac Industries in Burnsville, Minn. She helped launch the training program for CNC machinists in her home state.
As a small business owner representing the manufacturing sector, Ms. Miller was asked to serve for two years on the President’s Council for Jobs and Competitiveness. The Jobs Council is comprised of citizens chosen to provide non-partisan advice to the President to help foster economic growth, competitiveness, innovation and job creation.
Photo caption: Darlene Miller discusses the capabilities of the University of Pittsburgh/VA Human Engineering Research Laboratory with Director Rory A. Cooper, Ph.D., during a recent PCJC listening and action session.
PMPA provides staff assistance to Ms. Miller for her Jobs Council duties. Miles Free, PMPA’s Director of Industry Research and Technology, helped assure that the initial draft curriculum for Right Skills Now focused on delivering relevant skills needed in today’s advanced precision machining shops.
According to Ms. Miller, the first time she met with President Obama, she was asked to talk about the economy as it related to manufacturing and small business. “One of the things I said to the President was, ‘Not every student needs to go to college,’” she says.
“He had recently made a speech saying that every student should go to college. But he later agreed that while not all students must go to college, they do need some educational training beyond high school.
“I told him that in the precision machining industry, we have an urgent need for skilled people,” Ms. Miller continues. “We can’t afford to take just anyone off the street, provide some training and then put that person in a machining job.”
Despite the nation’s high unemployment rate, attracting workers with machining skills has been difficult for small manufacturers. “Because of the recession, we’re all strapped financially,” Ms. Miller explains. “We need people who have math skills. Our equipment is very high-tech, so we can’t afford to hire someone who hasn’t had technical training.
“It is critical that new hires have the necessary math and safety skills to understand and operate the machines,” she adds. “There is so much more involved now than there was 10 years ago.”
Serving on the Jobs Council with Ms. Miller are some of the country’s top corporate leaders from GE, American Express and DuPont. After the council meeting with the President, the members were divided into sub-committees. Ms. Miller was asked to co-chair the High-tech Education Sub-committee with Intel’s CEO, Paul Otellini.
The group held meetings and brought in two of Minnesota’s technical schools—Dunwoody College of Technology and South Central College. The sub-committee was also able to elicit help from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM); the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS); and American College Testing (ACT), the company that developed the testing for applicants. The program has also received funding from the Joyce Foundation.
“To make this work, there had to be a partnership between the business community, the technical schools and organizations like NAM, NIMS and ACT,” Ms. Miller emphasizes.
To be eligible for the program, applicants have to take ACT workforce development tests, which are geared towards the machining industry.
The three WorkKeys tests used are Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, and Locating Information. Each of these tests is scored from 1-7 points. People who score at least 3 points on each of the 3 tests earn a Bronze-level National Career Readiness Certificate. Scores of at least 4 earn the silver-level, 5 for gold, and people who achieve at least 6 points on each of the three tests earn a platinum-level NCRC. As Ms. Miller said, additional training is available for those who don’t score as high as they’d like to match the job skill requirements of the employers who use NCRC scores. If an individual doesn’t qualify for the program the first time, there are remedial classes available.
“Problem-solving is huge part of the curriculum,” Ms. Miller says. “There is a mix of both classroom learning and shop time. After 16 weeks, the student will intern at a manufacturing company for eight weeks.
“That person can stay with the company and continue his or her education in a specific field,” she adds. Some go into programming, Swiss machining or advanced CNC skills. Others may end up as operations managers, quality managers or even entrepreneurs.
“We intend to replicate Right Skills Now nationally,” Ms. Miller sums up. “It’s not just for CNC machinists. It can be used for nearly any job skill. The program is so well-defined and accredited, it can be tweaked very easily to train anyone from welders to healthcare technicians.”
