Manufacturers struggle to find skilled workers

March 12, 2012

Manufacturers struggle to find skilled workers

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(Archive illustration)

By Alejandra Cancino / Chicago Tribune
Doug Parsons needs to hire more than two dozen skilled workers at his manufacturing plant in Pekin, Ill., but he can't find them.

Parsons' problem was heightened last year when company sales grew 60 percent. To try to keep up, he hired about 30 to 40 machinists but needs more.

"We've come to the conclusion that the pool of qualified, trained, experienced workers is not sufficient to meet demand," said Parsons, president and chief executive of Excel Foundry & Machine, which makes parts for machines used in the mining industry.

Younger workers lack the skills to tap into a job that at Parsons' plant could pay up to $23 per hour. Part of the problem is that after decades of layoffs and outsourcing, young workers see manufacturing as dead, dying or offering jobs that are too dirty to bother with.

[Click here for Seattle-area manufacturing jobs posted at NWjobs.com.]

The lack of skilled workers is not new. In Parsons' case, he created his own training program in 2004 and started reaching out to local high schools and colleges to educate young workers about careers in manufacturing.

Other companies are taking a similar tack. They also are partnering with state agencies and manufacturing associations to improve education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which are key to landing jobs in today's manufacturing sector.

Nationwide, an estimated 600,000 manufacturing jobs are going unfilled, according to a survey by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute published last year. Manufacturers expect the shortage to worsen in the next three to five years as older workers retire.

"Exacerbating the issue is the stubbornly poor perception of manufacturing jobs among younger workers," the report says, adding that manufacturing ranks at the bottom of industries in which young workers would chose to start their careers.

Even the White House is trying to change the image of manufacturing. In his State of the Union address in January, President Barack Obama said American manufacturers were key to rebuilding the U.S. economy. "We have a huge opportunity, at this moment, to bring manufacturing back. But we have to seize it."

In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn is supporting manufacturing by pledging incentives to retain or expand the employee base for such companies as Ford Motor Co., truck- and engine-maker Navistar International Corp. and Excel. Aides said Quinn's strategy to help the industry includes investments in roads and a push to streamline regulation, such as last year's overhaul of the workers' compensation system.

"Here in Illinois, manufacturing is food and ag. It's farmland and biotech. It's automotive, transportation and computer electric products. For us, we really view it as one of the largest engines in the state," said Mark Harris, Quinn's deputy chief of staff.

The state's main incentive for manufacturers is the Employer Training Investment Program, or ETIP, which reimburses companies or organizations up to 50 percent of the cost of training employees. In fiscal 2011, the state awarded about $11 million in grants, which helped train workers at about 1,100 companies in manufacturing and service industries, according to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

"Clearly manufacturers tell us that we need to do a better job in our educational system, and we need to do a better of job highlighting the new world of manufacturing so that kids coming up through the educational system see that as a good career path, good opportunities and provide good jobs," said Warren Ribley, the state's top economic development official.

Manufacturers complain it takes up to 18 months to find skilled machinists, welders, operators and engineers.

"It's not unusual to hear how manufacturers are interviewing 60 to 100 applicants to find one skilled worker," said Jim Nelson, vice president of external affairs at the Illinois Manufacturers' Association.

Earlier this month Quinn announced a $3.2 million public-private initiative to increase student enrollment in science, technology, engineering and math programs in high schools and colleges.

Among the schools tapped to help with the initiative is the Richard J. Daley College in Chicago, which offers an associate's degree in manufacturing. This semester enrollment in the manufacturing classes jumped 23 percent to 54 students.

"The economy is a big part of that and a growing realization that there are good jobs and good careers in manufacturing," said Ray Prendergast, the director of the college's Manufacturing Technology Institute.

Consider first-year student Billy McFarland, who at 47 said he decided on a future in manufacturing because he was tired of looking at jobs that didn't pay more than $12 an hour.

"I'm pretty sure I've made a good choice," said McFarland, who decided to go back to school after his property management business tanked. He had his heart set on engineering, but a reality check of his finances steered him toward the manufacturing degree, which will cost him about $10,000, he said.

"The skill set is higher than most people understand," McFarland said.

He acknowledged that some family members and friends think he'll end up in a dingy factory. But he said he knows most factories these days are clean and the type of machinery requires far different skills, including being adept with math, than when his father worked in a steel mill.

At Pekin Community High School's manufacturing program, senior Trevor Reese said he left his $8.25-an-hour job at Steak 'n Shake to become a machinist at Excel. He'll earn $11.50 per hour until he graduates. Then his pay will jump to $13 per hour.

"Fast food is not my thing," said Reese, 18. "It's greasy and messy all the time."

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4 Comments

TONY on March 12, 2012 6:27 PM | Reply

if you paid more money you could get more skilled help -- no benifits ? no pension no health program you will only get high school kids who do not know the difference of what they are working for . now if you have a benifit program ask the question what is it worth to have compotent workers

Streetsmart on March 14, 2012 11:22 AM | Reply

When I went to High School 30 years ago, we had; metal shop, welding shop, wood shop, machining metal tools shop, electronics classes, drafting class, auto shop and small engine repair class.

Now most school have none of that, they teach digital photography, and digital animation. All the kids are focused on one thing, only and that is getting ready for college. But half the kids will not go to college and college does not mean automatic success anymore. We and letting the kids down by not teaching them the basics to get into manufacturing and the trades.

I guess the School administrators feel that all we need is to train kids for college, so they can ALL become teachers some day.

rick on March 16, 2012 1:51 AM | Reply

What Streetsmart said!

Employers now have degreeitis. You need a college degree to answer phones now. Where is that at?

It means that high school isn't doing what it did 30 years ago (40+ for me). Students aren't exposed to a variety of topics in their classes that might give them a clue about what they want to do after high school. Instead, they're supposed to go to college and figure it out.

Another factor is outsourcing. Bean counters see it as a way to improve their bottom line. But the savings is offset by skilled workers being displaced, and manufacturing in China is no simple task. There are many, many hidden pitfalls and gotchas!

I don't want to see another law, but something needs to be done to make outsourcing existing jobs less lucrative.

Morrisfactor on March 18, 2012 4:38 PM | Reply

Applying for a job when your chance of getting hired is 1 in a hundred does not make it apparent there is much of a shortage in manufacturing jobs - just that the companies cannot pay much due to competition from dirt cheap overseas labor.

Yes, they want one awesome, totally dedicated worker who can do it all - and pay them peanuts, with no benefits.

Manufacturers struggle to find skilled workers

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