worldwide skills shortage

[Mike Mcdermid]

i came across this on facebook Reedley company seeks to fill manufacturing positions | abc30.com

its not a unique to the USA problem

we are already looking to hire people for bicycle manufacturing but cant find the skills especially in the UK

anyone had any bright ideas alternative approaches to solving this

[Jake Rosenfeld]

-Bring back shop class.

-Give young adults a choice at grade 10 to pursue a trade school instead of pushing college at all costs while those with no intentions for it idle the last two years of high school while they put in their 'time' which is basically study halls and early release for the last year.

-Promote common sense in regards to safety and admonish people who are inventing danger where none exists and are administering their opinions about it with an above normal level of outrage. This only leads to higher costs of everything when employers are forced to comply to an ever increasing set of safety rules.

-Realize the long term detriment of instant gratification and show children what they can achieve with patience and that the knowledge of how to plan, execute and complete a project is a skill they can apply to nearly every aspect of their life for the rest of their lives.


We didn't get here overnight but we all got here together. It will take all of us to get back.

[dgaddis]

-Bring back shop class.

THIS. It wasn't even an option in my high school.

[Dallas Tex]

YES. Create a real network of actual trade schools. Vocational education in the US has become the red haired, step-child of the educational universe.

Look at the German model. Real trade education teaching real skills. Employers chomping at the bit to get grads.

This can't be yet another system of for-profit-schools ripping off the student loan system.

[blasdelf]

This can't be yet another system of for-profit-schools ripping off the student loan system.

Unfortunately that's exactly what we're getting

[EricKeller]

Reminds me of the storyline in "hitchhiker's guide" where an advanced race sends all the phone desanitizers and hairdressers off planet and then die of a disease spread on telephones.

I think that we took the trend to offshore production a little too seriously. The U.S., and I assume the U.K. still have a large manufacturing sector. But what seems to have happened is that too many school systems stopped training the people those manufacturers need because they bought into the hype that we are all going to be programmers and engineers. Can't possibly be true. Of course, this can be turned around, but we need a certain amount of public support for it or it's not going to happen

[e-RICHIE]

It all sounds like a plan, un-ringing the bell and all that, until you realize we're exactly where we're supposed to be.

I am big, it's the pictures that got small atmo.

We won't be returning to silent films, or vinyl, or any of the ways that are part of the past.
Some outliers will. But on balance, most of the others won't.
The worst you can do is lament about it.
And the best you can do is accept it.

[Mike Mcdermid]

It all sounds like a plan, un-ringing the bell and all that, until you realize we're exactly where we're supposed to be.



We won't be returning to silent films, or vinyl, or any of the ways that are part of the past.
Some outliers will. But on balance, most of the others won't.
The worst you can do is lament about it.
And the best you can do is accept it.

Sounds like your saying hey mike employ a robot its the future people dont/cant make things anymore

The downside for me is that we already have

[e-RICHIE]

Sounds like your saying hey mike employ a robot its the future people dont/cant make things anymore

The downside for me is that we already have

Part of what I'm saying is that the worry, and looking back rather than ahead, is more harmful and less productive than simply getting on with it. If you want something to happen, make it happen. Trying to make a movement out of reverse engineering where we are now is charming, but won't bear fruit. Well, that's part of what I'm saying atmo.

[aaronv]

-Bring back shop class.

-Give young adults a choice at grade 10 to pursue a trade school instead of pushing college at all costs while those with no intentions for it idle the last two years of high school while they put in their 'time' which is basically study halls and early release for the last year.

.

The cultural issue is that trades are scene as low status. A young adult from a middle class background would be paddling upstream against the current of family and community judgement by making the choice to go into a trade.

[nash]

That's what happened to me! I wanted to go to guitar building school but my father worked in the trades and saw it as inferior. I was taught to be proud of where I came from but not to pursue a career in anything similar. It's hard to get to get your footing after spending 4 years in college and entering the world with 20k of debt under your belt. Some go on to succeed. But I know a lot of people who just struggle, or tread water. I think it's one of the biggest mistakes and hurdles for my generation.

[Jake Rosenfeld]

The cultural issue is that trades are scene as low status. A young adult from a middle class background would be paddling upstream against the current of family and community judgement by making the choice to go into a trade.

Exactly!! That is what I was speaking to when I said it will take all of us working together to get back. I wasn't saying bring back the old days.
I am not proposing that we glorify the trades or manufacturing just that we stop with the caste system and let young people know that there are jobs available out there that can turn into a career if they choose not to go to college. It seems like we give them a choice now which is 'go to college or........ oh well, whatever... next!'

Its cultural change that we need, the socio-economic cross section that we used to draw a lot of this particular labor force from has been eroded by generations of welfare families who seem to be teaching that attaining the holy grail of full disability classification is a valid retirement plan to aspire towards.

[e-RICHIE]

Its cultural change that we need, the socio-economic cross section that we used to draw a lot of this particular labor force from has been eroded by generations of welfare families who seem to be teaching that attaining the holy grail of full disability classification is a valid retirement plan to aspire towards.

I don't know what that ^ means atmo. Wouldn't it be more correct to say that a generation or three thought that a college degree would be a better path than working with your hands? That is the seed that I see as planted. People wanted better jobs than could be had at factories, or hunched over at a shop bench, or fixing carburetors. String enough of these decades together and you have a legion of middle class people with maybe some brains, but not enough folks left who have any skills. I'm not sure where welfare or the disability stuff fits here. Thanks.

[Jake Rosenfeld]

I don't know what that ^ means atmo. Wouldn't it be more correct to say that a generation or three thought that a college degree would be a better path than working with your hands? That is the seed that I see as planted. People wanted better jobs than could be had at factories, or hunched over at a shop bench, or fixing carburetors. String enough of these decades together and you have a legion of middle class people with maybe some brains, but not enough folks left who have any skills. I'm not sure where welfare or the disability stuff fits here. Thanks.

that's all well and good and I see your point but if you factor in that the products changed during those three generations maybe you could see mine. They don't use carburetors anymore, drill presses have been replaced by cnc machines and laser cutters and water jets that all need qualified people to run them. Why cant trade schools be for teenagers instead of retraining 40sumpins with degrees who are still paying off loans? Or more specifically, why cant we do a better job of letting teens know that its ok?
Chances are you will get some very adept workers from the younger pool with some other smarts who will filter thru to become upper management or even business owners themselves.

The original question was why can't we find enough people to fill the manufacturing labor force? my answer in the last post meant that there is a lot of people who have decided that its easier to sit on the dole than it is to go find work.
If kids only hear 'go to college and make something out of yourself' then what are the kids without means to do that to do? Believe me, there are plenty of kids who don't grok learning stuff as its presented by your typical educational institution but get them going on something physical or constructive and you will struggle to keep up with them.

I also sort of feel like this last recession played a part here as well. Typically when kids graduate from high school without a solid college plan they go and get a job wether its retail or construction. A lot of the time a few months of this is enough to shock them into getting off the fence and they go enroll and start chasing that better life that they were told was there.
For plenty others though, they find something agreeable that they pursue for awhile and then job hop as they narrow down what they like doing and filter into manufacturing and construction This all stopped for 4-5 years because there was just nothing available for anyone or it was already filled by someone older who was over qualified.

Manufacturing and construction are suffering now because of this gap. I'm sure it will level out in time.

[Mark Kelly]

we are already looking to hire people for bicycle manufacturing but cant find the skills especially in the UK

anyone had any bright ideas alternative approaches to solving this

Hire Australians: we have successfully destroyed our manufacturing sector here, lots of unemployed fitters around. Mind you, they expect to be paid $40 an hour, have a full social welfare backup and they come equipped with management bullshit detectors, so it might not work for US companies.

Mike, your weather might work against you too.