Manufacturers work together to find skilled workers

It might seem paradoxical in the current economy, but manufacturers sometimes can’t find the people they need for the jobs they have.

An initiative to attract, train and hire qualified candidates to current and future advanced manufacturing career opportunities in Southwest Michigan is under way to address that.

The 10-month old Southwest Michigan Advanced Manufacturing Career Consortium has been evaluating the recruitment of more candidates into manufacturing careers and the identification of individuals who have talents best suited to the manufacturing jobs.

It also is exploring key elements needed in a competency-based training academy for advanced manufacturing.

The group has conducted industry focus groups and team meetings to develop action plans to address the concerns of area manufacturers regarding the challenge to fill open positions.

As part of the work done so far, the Consortium says that in a sample of 14 employers in the group between them more than 371 manufacturing jobs will be available within the next six months.

Tim St. Onge, vice president of operations for Eliason Corporation, a  60-year-old company that makes double-action traffic doors, says he’s involved in the consortium because he has a hard time finding skilled, qualified workers.

While he is willing to teach new employees the technical skills that they need to work for him, St. Onge said he’s been most surprised that so many candidates lack basic “soft skills” such as initiative, organizational skills and punctuality.

These are some of the issues that the consortium continues to explore and is working to address as it regularly meets at M-Tec on the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Campus.

Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source: Dawn Kemp, Kalamazoo Valley Community College