Industry News
Small U.S. Manufacturers Can Compete with Foreign Suppliers
All they need is a highly-skilled workforce.
"We're not going to compete on the price of our labor, we're going to compete on the skill of
our labor," says Sandi Vito, Pennsylvania's deputy secretary for workforce development.
That sentiment is echoed throughout the country as small to large manufacturers scramble for skilled
workers.
"Too few young people consider manufacturing careers and often are unaware of the skills needed in
an advanced environment," says the U.S. Department of Labor in a recent study.
The result is a dramatic shortage in machinists, tool and die makers, and complex assembly workers.
With the retirement of older workers, comes the reality that there are no younger people to take their
place. The need for training is overshadowed by the lack of interest on the part of younger people.
"The solution," says JJC's contract training manager Joe Giunta, "is to inform young people in high
school about the earning potential of manufacturing jobs. Our annual job fair for manufacturing jobs
is a good place to start."
Another important approach is to provide opportunities for displaced workers to prepare themselves
for a manufacturing career. "We have the equipment, the programs, and the talent to teach these
skills," says Giunta who points out that manufacturing jobs today requires sophisticated skills in
math, computer-aided design, and programmable logic controls.
"Today's manufacturing environment is not what our parents would remember," says Giunta. "It is a
high-tech operation that cannot be exported overseas."
Read more at AOL.
To find out how Joliet Junior College can help you fill open manufacturing jobs with trained people,
call Joe Giunta at 815-280-2729, or e-mail Joe at jgiunta@jjc.edu.