Training the Future

Ford assembly line, 1913.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The lack of United States-based manufacturing and construction jobs in today's economy is well documented and well lamented.  For some time there has been an exodus of manufacturing to other countries.  For five years, there has been woefully little construction going on in most parts of the country.

This has had serious economic and employment implications.  A whole class of middle-class workers have had to rethink their futures, and the futures of their children.  Following in Dad's footsteps at the neighborhood factory no longer seems as feasible as it once did.  Or as secure.  Even in those increasingly rare situations in which the neighborhood factory is still there.

The good news is there seem to be some glimmerings of positive change in both the construction and manufacturing industries. No one is going to party like it's 2007, but bit by bit, there seems to be a changing of the tides.  Some of these important jobs are creeping back into our economy.

But now there is a new problem.  Just as manufacturers are emerging from a shortage of jobs, they are facing another shortage; workers with the skills and abilities to succeed.  Manufacturing has changed.  There is a greater reliance on automation and a greater need for workers who are problem solvers and high tech operators versus cogs on the assembly line.  The skills and talents needed to succeed are greater than ever, requiring more practice and apprenticeship than ever.

Since there hasn't been much of a manufacturing industry for 5 to 10 years, there hasn't been much of an apprenticeship program.  Young people haven't had the opportunity to work along side experienced workers to learn their trade.  Add that to the fact that more and more manufacturing jobs rely less and less on physical labor and more on the worker's good judgement and ability to operate complicated, computerized equipment and you have jobs that take significant time and practice to master.  And few people practicing at the moment.

Companies are getting more help in training those qualified people they can find.  Community colleges, high schools and chambers of commerce are starting to cobble together training programs to meet the needs of 21st century companies.  Sometimes, the programs are tailored to the specific needs of a local industry or company.

The paradigm shift is dramatic and significant.  It's going to take some training to get past it.