Senior Editor
- FMA
- The Fabricator
- FABTECH
- Canadian Metalworking
Categories
- Additive Manufacturing
- Aluminum Welding
- Arc Welding
- Assembly and Joining
- Automation and Robotics
- Bending and Forming
- Consumables
- Cutting and Weld Prep
- Electric Vehicles
- En Español
- Finishing
- Hydroforming
- Laser Cutting
- Laser Welding
- Machining
- Manufacturing Software
- Materials Handling
- Metals/Materials
- Oxyfuel Cutting
- Plasma Cutting
- Power Tools
- Punching and Other Holemaking
- Roll Forming
- Safety
- Sawing
- Shearing
- Shop Management
- Testing and Measuring
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Tube and Pipe Production
- Waterjet Cutting
Industry Directory
Webcasts
Podcasts
FAB 40
Advertise
Subscribe
Account Login
Search
Grabbing the skilled-labor issue by the horns
- By Tim Heston
- February 16, 2010
Technology, though, presents a problem for those training tomorrow’s skilled labor force. When it comes to training, it’s true that shop classes are shuttered in part because of misperceptions. School leaders follow media coverage of our “service-based economy” and adjust curricula to suit. But even during the good times, this wasn’t the only reason schools shifted resources away from shop classes.
Shop class is expensive.
Can you image a school buying the latest and greatest equipment, just as it forces teachers to take furlough days to make budget? Even conventional shop classes, with basic equipment, cost more per student than English classes. (As an aside, you could ask why schools spend so much on sports, which is also more expensive than English class. But follow the money—ticket sales, sponsorships, and the rest—and these programs may not be such a huge drain on cash as they might appear.)
The solution could involve sending more money to schools by raising taxes, but we know that’s not likely. Another option is for industry leaders to take matters into their own hands. This is what’s happening in northern Ohio. Lakeland Community College is teaming up with the Alliance for Working Together, a group of 60 local manufacturers, to develop a manufacturing degree program.
AWT member Rich Peterson is vice president of business development at Astro Manufacturing, a metal fabrication and machining company in Eastlake, Ohio. He told The News-Herald, a northern Ohio newspaper, that the group is working to change manufacturing’s image and expose kids to what’s really going on at today’s manufacturing enterprises.
The group may solve another issue. Peterson said the program details are being sorted out, but he asked a good question: "Where can they do work with equipment? Can they come [to different companies] and the company will sponsor that?”
That may be a viable solution. Many say kids just aren’t exposed to manufacturing technologies. That’s true, but it’s not just because of manufacturing’s image and lack of media coverage. Machines cost a lot of money. Sure, plant tours for school kids are great, but letting students operate machines (with appropriate supervision, of course) would be something else. Exposing kids early on like this would counteract the erroneous notion that U.S. manufacturing is going the way of the dodo.
We all know government is broke, and we’re not that keen about paying more taxes so secondary and technical schools can expand (or relaunch) their manufacturing programs. So how about grabbing the skilled-labor issue by the horns, opening the shop floor, and exposing interested kids to the meat and potatoes of modern metal fabrication? It may or may not be possible, but at the very least, it’s a good question to ask.
subscribe now
The Fabricator is North America's leading magazine for the metal forming and fabricating industry. The magazine delivers the news, technical articles, and case histories that enable fabricators to do their jobs more efficiently. The Fabricator has served the industry since 1970.
start your free subscriptionAbout the Author
Tim Heston
2135 Point Blvd
Elgin, IL 60123
815-381-1314
Tim Heston, The Fabricator's senior editor, has covered the metal fabrication industry since 1998, starting his career at the American Welding Society's Welding Journal. Since then he has covered the full range of metal fabrication processes, from stamping, bending, and cutting to grinding and polishing. He joined The Fabricator's staff in October 2007.
- Stay connected from anywhere
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Fabricator.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Welder.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Tube and Pipe Journal.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Fabricator en Español.
- Podcasting
- Podcast:
- The Fabricator Podcast
- Published:
- 03/05/2024
- Running Time:
- 65:35
After Ludlow Manufacturing Inc. (LMI) received The Fabricator's 2024 Industry Award, Todd Ludlow, founder and president of the...
- Trending Articles
Volatility in steel prices likely to continue
Tube laser positions fabricator for future growth
Fighting the fear of new technology in the manufacturing shop
Precision Cut Industries appoints president
Norton RazorStar abrasive discs designed to improve grinding performance
- Industry Events
NASCC: The Steel Conference
- March 20 - 22, 2024
- San Antonio,
The Fabricator's Manufacturers & Suppliers Event (MSE)
- March 26, 2024
- Schaumburg, IL
Coil Processing Workshop & Tours
- April 2 - 3, 2024
- Corpus Christi, TX
GOLF4MFG South
- April 15, 2024
- Charlotte, NC
16th Annual Safety Conference
- April 30 - May 1, 2024
- Elgin,