Initiatives Advance to Draw New Talent to Industry
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Manufacturers, training providers and educators will learn tomorrow how their work is progressing to prepare industry in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys for what is likely a future with many challenges.
While the overall health of the economy is always in the background, and every manufacturer in the region has experienced the roller coaster rides of punishing recessions and great prosperity, the long-term answer to a sustainable manufacturing presence here is addressing the “skills gap” of the industrial workforce, they believe.
Tackling this challenge is the thrust behind the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition and Industry Partners of Mercer and Lawrence Counties, two initiatives that have combined their efforts to recruit new talent to the trades while upgrading the skills of the existing workforce.
MVMC members will conduct their quarterly general membership meeting Friday at the Mahoning County Career & Technical Center in Canfield. The agenda will include reports about job shadowing and internship opportunities, a substance abuse impact survey and the outreach and marketing action team.
“It isn’t your father’s machine shop or manufacturing plant,” says Michael Garvey, president of M-7 Technologies in Youngstown. “The skill sets that are necessary in the future are a combination of commonly found 19th and 20th century craftsmanship and current technology.”
M-7 is a founding member of the Manufacturers Coalition and today that organization, along with the Industry Partners in western Pennsylvania is launching an all-out campaign to increase interest in the manufacturing trades.
One aspect of the initiative is to dispel many of the stereotypes that depict manufacturing careers as unstable, dirty and unfulfilling, Garvey notes.
Convincing a new generation of young workers – and their parents – that careers in manufacturing offer a reliable, high-paying and rewarding life is no easy task, Garvey admits, since many equate the sector with the steel industry of two generations ago.
“We have some heavy lifting to do to dispel the myths that it’s dirty and that there’s uncertainty in the job market,” Garvey says. ““But that’s the reputation it’s earned because of the decimation of manufacturing in this community.”
Industry in the region has changed dramatically, Garvey says. His company, M-7, started as a traditional machine shop, but has now added high-tech applications in metrology to make it more diversified and competitive. “We’re going to need welders, but we also need really capable tech-savvy employees, and use this to generate wealth,” he says.
Industrial employees are required to possess strong math, mechanical and computer skills, which Garvey says represents “the new normal” of manufacturing.
A recent survey conducted by the Manufacturers Coalition and Industry Partners shows that 8% of student respondents between the ages of 12 and 18 say they would pursue a career in manufacturing. While that number matches up with the national average of workers employed in manufacturing, it falls well short of the 13% employed in the region.
That leaves manufacturers scrambling to fill a significant gap as older members of the local workforce get ready to retire. Moreover, the survey found, over the last decade the number of workers between the ages of 18 and 24 employed in manufacturing has been cut in half.
However, another 12% of the sample was undecided about a career in manufacturing, which presents industry with an opportunity to focus on this group of young people and convince them of the opportunities in manufacturing.
The key to cultivating new talent is continuous training and learning, says Jessica Borza, coordinator of the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition and Industry Partners of Lawrence and Mercer Counties. Among the priorities of the coalition is encouraging cooperation and partnerships with area tech centers, educators and training providers to build a pipeline of younger, highly skilled workers.
These education centers, including career and technical centers in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, have all responded enthusiastically to the initiative, Borza says.
“Enrollment has grown in the welding programs,” she remarks, citing heightened interest at Columbiana County Career and Technical Center. “There were so many that they’re putting on a night shift program for adults,” she says. “Employers love it, and it gets them accustomed to shift work.”
A new welding program was also introduced at Mahoning Career and Technical Center this year, and the machinist course has rebounded over the last five years, Borza says.
“That’s where the void is in the workforce – machining,” she says. “Welding is second.”
Trumbull Career and Technical Center also reports high demand for its welding programs, and a new machining course added just this semester is likely to grow in the near future, Borza says.
“I think a lot of people have come to understand that there are a number of opportunities, that they’ll have opportunities with new manufacturers and the oil and gas industry, which has additional pull,” she says.
New business with oil and gas exploration in the region is likely to grow in the foreseeable future, manufacturers predict, as energy companies continue to drill for wet gas in the Utica shale.
“Our focus this year will be to grow into our Andrews Avenue facility and fulfill the relationship we have with Valerus,” reports Brian Benyo, president of Brilex Group.
In November, Brilex secured a partnership with Houston-based Valerus, a manufacturer of oil and gas processing equipment, to build separators, coalescing filters and other components for the industry.
“It will mean additional hiring, of course,” Benyo says. “We have opportunities in machining, welding, fitting, layout work, inspection – it continues to be broad-based.”
Brilex, a member of the coalition since its inception two years ago, plans to hire about 30 new employees related to the expansion.
The coalition has helped achieve several goals, Benyo reports. First, the organization has created a new awareness and has to a degree rebranded the image of industry today. Second, he’s witnessed increased enrollment in machining and welding programs throughout the Valley, which he finds encouraging
“The actions we’ve taken are laying the groundwork,” Benyo says. “Some of the next steps are to bring along skill levels that need to be fulfilled.”
Lisa Goetsch, director of workforce development at Kent State University Trumbull, says the programs there have witnessed an increase in incumbent worker training, which she says is also a critical asset to the future of the region’s manufacturing base.
“There are challenges on both fronts,” she says. “Not only are employers finding it hard to get new workers, but employees who are already in these occupations need to enhance their skills.”
One key area employers look for today are employees who possess strong critical-thinking skills, who can analyze a problem and discover a more efficient and effective method of completing a job, Goetsch says.
“There’s an emphasis on quality systems, LEAN manufacturing, Six Sigma and ISO certification,” Goetsch says. “Customers are demanding that their suppliers hold credentials,” especially in the emerging oil and gas industry.
Workers today are educated through a blend of on-the-job and online training, Goetsch says. “Five years ago, employers were skeptical. Now, they request it.”
There is a growing demand for industrial maintenance workers as well as quality inspectors, she observes.
Goetsch also points to encouraging signs that employers are now more willing to invest in their workforce, signaling a rebound in the economy.
“Compared to three or four years ago, the economy has turned the corner,” she says. “We’ve seen companies say they want to invest in their people, that you can streamline processes and remain competitive, that your company is your workforce.”
Editor's Note: Parts of this story first appeared in the January edition of The Business Journal, which focused on the work of the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition and the Industry Partners of Mercer and Lawrence Counties. CLICK HERE to subscribe to our twice-monthly print edition.
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.