The Talent Gap: Finding Skilled Workers Isn't Easy

[tim003]

Besides looking for machinists, my employer is also looking for a CNC programmer that has experience with 3D graphic software. Experience in Edgecam or Esprit strongly preferred, so if you know anybody please send me a PM. Thanks.

 

[okwarren]

At some point companies are going to need to start training people themselves instead of hoping someone with experience will apply.

 

[AllOut]

At some point companies are going to need to start training people themselves instead of hoping someone with experience will apply.

We do
Back in 2006-2007 we hired 70 people with no experience. Hell most of them had never even seen a machine before. We sent them to an 12 week machining crash coarse at Vo Tech. Paid them 8 hours a day a paid for the class. Then started training them in house when they were done. Most of them ended up getting layed off in 2008 LOL
Well guess what..... Things are booming right now so we did it again.

 

[Shadowrider]

Those jobs that don’t go overseas are considered low-wage, blue collar, factory-type jobs and are often undesirable. Because our schools (and probably parents to some extent) continue to steer youth away from the skilled trades, a four-year college degree remains the preferred career path for most high school students.

There’s Pride in the Trades
It takes a special person to be able to learn and understand the complex and technical nature of most skilled trades.

Hard Work Is Good
In addition to the economy, our high unemployment rate can also be attributed to our talent supply. There are clearly jobs available, but not enough skilled workers to fill them. This talent gap will continue to grow if we don’t do anything about it. We can start by working to change the stigma attached to the skilled trades and hard work. Getting your hands dirty isn’t a bad thing. Mike Rowe, host of the TLC show “Dirty Jobs” and champion for skilled workers in the United States, is dedicated to reinvigorating the image of the skilled trades. His mission statement: “Work is not the Enemy” is the theme to his website, mikeroweWORKS.com, a community dedicated to skilled labor.

Excellent article and a whole lot of truth in it. These trades are still considered "blue collar" and looked down upon by most parents. I was a CNC machinist/programmer for about 20 years. I learned to program g-code with a blueprint, trig table and a calculator. We wrote out our code on legal pads then went to the machine and manually typed it into the control. We had a tape punch but it was a pain and we only used it on the NC machines that had no memory. That was the old days, later we did code on a risc based Silicon Graphics UNIX workstation because PC's didn't have the computing power to run the software to generate simultaneous 5 axis code connected directly to the machine or DNC via CAT-5 cable. Talk about some contrast!

There is a lot of self satisfaction and personal pride that comes from turning a 2700 pound rough forging into a $30,000 finished, shiny, precision part. And using equipment and tooling that costs $1,000,000 and more to make that part is just freakin cool. There are a whole lot of college educated parents these days that don't have any 1st hand knowledge of this. This problem is a by-product of being in a country as fortunate as we are. And who doesn't like Mike Rowe?

 

[racing1g]

I have six years of chemical plant experience along with e&i and cnc background. I had to interview seven times to get my current job, all because they preferred somebody with a degree. One thing I have noticed about the training is that they hire these people with zero plant experience and tell them "Here are some drawings, learn this 40 acre plant". I love having a blue collar job, ya the hours suck when i'm actually working but where else can I work 6 months a year and make six figures?

 

[Buddhaman]

It took my 5 months after I graduated to find a job that would hire someone without any experience in an engineering job. Now I'm learning some manual lathe and mill while doing minor design work on Solidworks. It seems like a lot of the places that say they want engineers are trying to replace retiring ones and want someone with experience (and those are the ones retiring). I like where I'm at a lot and I don't plan on jumping when I get enough experience for some other places. If I had gone a different route I might have ended up being a machinist, there's just something cool about making a part out of bar stock.

 

[LightningCrash]

If this gives you wood then it sounds like some people in this thread would hire you

 

[chevyboy123]

It gets old being told that you need a degree for a job just because it gives somebody in an office warm and fuzzies

 

[prophet]

Meh. Not as much on the job training as there used to be either. It seems all job openings want experience and a lot of it.
This was not the case not that many years ago.

At our shop we hire mostly younger guys and train them ourselves. The reason we do that is because its easier to train someone to do things the way we want/need them done rather than break any bad habits they picked up elsewhere. We have tried to hire guys who had experience but only two of them are still here after their first year, one is going on his third year with us. Its not easy to find good help anymore, everyone has the entitlement attitude now a days.

ETA:
If you have sheet metal experience (not heat and air, but if you know your basics that may work) PM me ill send you our info we are looking for an experienced guy right now.

 

[RickN]

It gets old being told that you need a degree for a job just because it gives somebody in an office warm and fuzzies

Try being over 55, self taught on most of what you can do, having a few health issues and looking for a decent job in this economy.