Posts Tagged ‘manufacturing careers’

Opportunities worth trumpeting

October 15th, 2012
By: Tim Heston

We all know wage growth in this country is next to nothing. It’s one reason why the presidential election season has been so contentious. Employees continue to work harder than ever, while employers hesitate to hire more.

But metal fabricators and other manufacturers have another problem: Some would like to hire more, but they can’t find the skilled talent they need. It’s been this way for years, of course, and politicians know this, which is why legislatures and government administrators are launching programs like the  Right Skills Now initiative to address the problem.

If skills are in high demand, many assume that higher pay would follow that demand, and to some extent it has, as reported by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association’s Salary/Wage & Benefit Survey. A code-level welder’s (one certified to certain industry codes) average salary has risen more than 3 percent since 2010--not very impressive, but the growth isn’t nonexistent, as so many people have experienced since the recession.

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Fabricating the American Dream

May 29th, 2012
By: Tim Heston

Many are rethinking the American Dream these days, especially over Memorial Day. The dream, however idealistic, is worth fighting for. But what is that dream, exactly? National Public Radio’s Ari Shapiro put it this way: “Though the phrase has different meanings to different people, it suggests an underlying belief that hard work pays off, and that the next generation will have a better life than the previous generation.”

He added that the notion is uniquely American. Although we don’t feel people are entitled to success, we feel that hard work and playing by the rules should lead us to something better than our parents had. Success, we feel, is within our control.

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Whinges across the globe

May 17th, 2012
By: Vicki Bell

A recent blog post by Editor-in-Chief Dan Davis was the subject of last week's "Fabricating Update" e-newsletter. This post—Manufacturing on the rise; pay not so much—dealt with an issue (starting wages) that might be hampering hiring efforts and stressed the need for employers to do a better job of positioning their employment opportunities as the first steps in a fulfilling career.

We asked newsletter subscribers to share their thoughts about this topic and received responses from readers both in the U.S. and other parts of the world that indicate this is a global issue. Respondents from all over the world share the same whinges. (more...)

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Posted in Global Marketplace, Shop Soapbox, Training and Retention | 1 Comment »

Manufacturing: A modern-day Atlas

February 16th, 2012
By: Tim Heston

Yesterday I visited an Atlanta-area fabricator that moved into a new facility two weeks ago. The company name says it all, really: Mitchell’s Specialized Fabrication.

It’s a specialized fabricator of industrial tanks, pressure vessels, and piping run by Scott Mitchell, a no-nonsense, get-it-done manager who doesn’t hesitate to tell you how it really is. About 60 percent of company revenue comes from field service work, the remaining from in-shop fabrication.

His company just installed its first plate roll in a new facility that’s double the size of the fabricator’s previous home, on the other side of Douglasville, Ga. When I arrived, Mitchell was out on the floor operating a Hi-Lo. Equipment needed to be moved, and he didn’t hesitate to step in and help. In the front office, the phones kept ringing. Business is on a tear.

This was indicative of many of my shop visits of late. Cell phones are ringing. Work abounds. Time’s money, and as this recovery picks up steam, there’s more money to be made.

Just as I was touring an Atlanta fabricator, our president was walking through the Master Lock plant in Milwaukee. Manufacturing, it seems, has taken center stage.
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Setting up for manufacturing growth

January 17th, 2011
By: Tim Heston

Last week the federal government released a report saying exports grew for the third straight month. Despite the fact that new orders in November declined slightly, year over year new orders increased 12.3 percent from 2009 to 2010. Sure, the growth is coming off of some unprecedented lows, but the growth is significant all the same. Overall, manufacturing has been growing three times faster than the rest of the economy.

What a difference a financial crisis makes. Manufacturing is cool again.

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Grabbing the skilled-labor issue by the horns

February 16th, 2010
By: Tim Heston

High unemployment has muted manufacturing’s cry for skilled workers, but the cry is still there. It’s a paradox. As manufacturers shed unskilled workers, those who are left must be more skilled and versatile than ever. According to the Labor Department, American manufacturing produces more value per worker than ever before: eight times more productive, in real dollar terms, than workers were in 1941, thanks to skills and application of technology.

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.

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The future of training

January 28th, 2010
By: Eric Lundin

Whether or not you follow all the latest trends in digital technology, you’ve probably seen fancy devices such as the Smartphone from BlackBerry® or the iPhone from Apple. They allow you to do all sorts of things—play music, send and receive text messages, take photos, record and edit video, surf the Web, and so on. I have heard that you can even place and receive telephone calls.

It doesn’t end there, of course. Countless programmers have spent countless hours creating applications (excuse me, “apps”) for these devices. Many are free, and a lot of them are novelties (excuse me, “useless”), such as one that mimics the sound of pumping a shotgun. I guess that one is actually pretty cool, now that I think about it. The iPhone has a built-in accelerometer; when it senses you making a shotgun-pumping motion, the application responds accordingly.

I asked a couple of our IT staff members about unusual apps.

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Renewed hope for U.S. manufacturing

November 20th, 2009
By: Eric Lundin

In 1939 manufacturing provided about 30 percent of the jobs in the U.S. By November of 1943, it provided 38.8 percent of U.S. jobs. Shortly after World War II ended, the manufacturing portion was back to its prewar level. Except for a few expansions along the way, probably associated with producing military goods for the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, it has been dwindling more or less steadily ever since.

In August it slipped below 9 percent.
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