This is Not Your Ole’ School Manufacturing Job – CNC Skills Required!

I’m hearing lots of chit-chatter about bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States so we can get Americans working again. I’m all for it and believe it is the right move to make. However, my friends, let’s not convince ourselves that we’re ready to waltz our way into these positions.

According to information explained in this article [U.S. manufacturing sees shortage of skilled factory workers], the United States has had a shortage of qualified manufacturing workers for quite some time.  You can read the article in its entirety, but I want to highlights a few points from it so you can quickly see the challenges and opportunities facing our workforce.

• Our current losses have NOT left a surplus of skilled factory workers who have the skills needed for today’s manufacturing careers. On the contrary there are many factory workers who have lost their jobs because their manufacturing skills are out dated.

• The manufacturing industry does not have a shortage of workers who can run old-fashioned presses and lathes, but it does have a shortage of workers who can handle the new technology of the industry.

• Right now there are about 600,000 job openings in this industry, yet even with our record high unemployment rate the jobs remain open and unfulfillable.   This industry needs employees with specialized technical skills who can program in the numeric code called CNC, which is a code that instructs the automated production machine precisely how to do the work. Check out this conversation between two industry professionals; you will see it sounds nothing like the conversations that used to take place between machinists. 

• You can get the CNC skills needed by looking for training  and/or degree programs in machine tool technology from a community college or vocational school. More ROPs should consider offering these courses to high schoolers as well. (see the listing below)

• Just because the machinist needs to be more skilled does not mean this job is no longer a “shop job”.  Machinists will still work in noisy and somewhat unclean conditions wearing uniforms that get a little dirty, but these blue-collar guys will make approximately $4/hour more than their white-collar counterparts.

In closing, I’d like to take some words straight from the original article’s section called “New Recruiting Tactics”.  It says:

“The shortage has forced firms to adopt new tactics.  To fill slots, a few manufacturers have turned to hiring candidates who are untrained but have the inclination to work with their hands…. ‘We knew that we were not going to find the people with the right skills right off the streets,’ said Mark Pringle, director of operations at the plant. “So we tried to find people with the right aptitudes.’”

So, there you have it all of you who look forward to the re-birth of manufacturing in the United States.  We’ve got our work cut out for us.  My recommendation to anyone remotely interested in getting into manufacturing is this:  Don’t wait for the jobs to come back to your neighborhood before preparing for them.  You are now informed of the challenges and opportunities ahead, so get in school and prepare now.

Here are a few schools and training centers in California that offer CNC coursework.  If you know of any more, please let me know so I can add them to the list. You’ll need to brush up on those math (algebra), reading, and problem-solving skills to survive these courses.

City	School/Training Center	Website
Anaheim	North Orange County ROP	www.nocrop.tec.ca.us
Fresno	Fresno City College – CNC Degree	www.scccd.com
Fullerton	Fullerton College	http://machine.fullcoll.edu
Glendale	Glendale Community College – CNC Degree	http://www.glendale.cc.ca.us
Hayward	Chabot Community College – Certificate in CNC Programming	www.clpccd.cc.ca.us
Los Angeles	Los Angeles Trade Technical College – AS in CNC	http://www.lattc.cc.ca.us/
Modesto, CA	Modesto Junior College – Machine & Tool Tech	www.mjc.edu
Norwalk, CA	NTMA Training Center	http://trainingcenters.org
Ontario, CA	NTMA Training Center	http://trainingcenters.org
Reedley, CA	Reedley College – Manufacturing Technology Machine Shop	http://www.reedleycollege.edu/index.aspx?page=153
Riverside, CA	Masters Vocational College	www.mastersvoc.com
San Bernardino	San Bernardino Valley College	ccentra.sbccd.cc.ca.us
San Jose	TTL College	http://www.ttl-school.com/courses.htm
San Jose	San Jose City College  – Machine Technology (CNC)	www.sjcc.edu
San Jose	San Jose State University – Degree in www.engr.sjsu.edu/tech	www.engr.sjsu.edu/tech
Santa Ana	Santa Ana College – CNC degrees	www.sac.edu

Before you go, check out this youtube video:

I hope this helps get you moving in the right direction.  Blessings!
~ Michelle Walker-Wade

On Unemployment with No High School Diploma? You May be Forced to Get a GED

On February 2, 2012 The House-Senate discussions on approving an extension of unemployment benefits beyond March 1, 2012 has a proposal on the table that would require people who do not have a high school diploma to take G.E.D. classes as a condition of receiving more unemployment income.  They do not agree on the approach, but it is on the table for consideration.  See C-SPANS’s coverage of the discussion at the link below.  Forward the video to 34:00 min to hear the discussion on this issue; listen for about 30 minutes.

CLICK HERE TO SEE C-SPAN’S VIDEO OF THE COMMITTEE MEETING – (Make sure you’re watching the 2^nd of 3 meetings)

What are my thoughts on this matter?

I believe there should be some sort of condition for everyone receiving ‘extended’ UI benefits, however there must be additional considerations included. As one who has 10+ years of experience in adult education, I know many adult students who are low literacy, low skill and therefore do not have enough literacy to comprehend the GED textbooks, which start at about 5th grade reading level. These students require a fair amount of additional support services and time before they can even tackle the GED curriculum. GED is not necessarily purposed to BUILD literacy skills as much as it is to show proof that you have them.

Secondly, if a person is out of work because the work they’ve done most of their life is now obsolete, that person needs job re-training along with GED test preparation, and will need to accomplish both in the limited amount of time provided in the UI extension. This is a unrealistic expectation.

Thirdly, many adult students – who are retirement age – and have qualified for extended UI benefits along with job retraining benefits under other training benefit plans often attend school/training just as a means to delay receiving their social security for 2 years, yet having no intention to return to the workforce. These folks are a challenge in the classroom because they are there for the wrong reasons and they do not take the training seriously.

On the flip side, I personally know of many people who are “comfortable” only depending on their unemployment income and who have not made any real effort to find employment. They did, however, start looking for work when they were unsure if the December extension would pass.

Something needs to be done to get folks moving and engaged back into the workforce but requiring GED for UI isn’t it.

California Employers Can No Longer Access Your Credit Report As A Condition of Employment

As the job market grew tighter and tighter, employers came up with more ways to weed-out job candidates.  One method employers used was to check your credit reports.  The rationale they used was, if a person’s credit was bad they probably were not “trustworthy” enough to be employed in their company.  Nearly 60% of employers began participating in this less-than-accurate practice, considering all of the factors in recent years that have caused many hard-working, trustworthy people to fall in their credit rating.

Well, CALIFORNIA (along with 6 other States) has banned this practice; and 19 more  States are in progress of banning it as well.  This is good news for millions of unemployed and under-employed individuals.

If any employer attempts to have you sign a release to run your credit report, make sure you tell them about the California credit check law, signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown in October 2011, and went into effect Jan. 1, 2012.  This law protects MOST, but not all.

CLICK HERE  to check out MarketWatch’s video clip entitled: States Start Banning Credit Checks

Here is a list of jobs that fall into the exception-to-the rule category:

Jobs that allow a credit check include:

• A position in the state Department of Justice
• A managerial position
• A position as a sworn peace officer or other law enforcement job
• A position for which the information is required by law
• A position that involves access to specified personal information
• A position in which the person is a named signatory on the employer’s bank or credit card account
• A position that involves access to confidential or proprietary information
• A position that involves regular access to $10,000 or more of cash

If interested, you can read the full bill,  AB 22,  at: http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_0001-0050/ab_22_bill_20110920_enrolled.html