Posted on 09/03/2007 11:07:38 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Every time John Remore steps up to his workstation to form a piece of sheet metal, he brings an intangible asset to the job: 42 years of experience, dating to lessons from his father.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Where I work we use a lot of Allen-Bradley digital interfaces and industrial control systems. My son could probably use to speak their language...he’d really enjoy that, too.
Where I work we use a lot of Allen-Bradley digital interfaces and industrial control systems. My son could probably use to speak their language...he’d really enjoy that, too.
Hopefully that pendulum swing is for real. Too many companies shed most of their seasoned workers to make room for cheaper new grads.
I started doing freelance web design 10 years ago. Right from the start I offered to teach any of my three daughters the craft, but not one of them was interested. I finally had to quit truck driving after 31 years because my business grew too large to be a sideline. I have tried to hire young people as subcontractors, but they aren't dependable enough. I have clients who depend on me, and I can't chance letting them down.
Mrs. Chandler is sitting at her computer now learning graphic editing, and I have her retired sister doing copy writing for me.
Older workers have a sense of what business is all about.
I work in defense as an engineer, as described in this article, the only way anyone under 40 gets promoted is if someone at the top dies. I've got a family to support.
True, but I think you’d be amazed at the number of older gamers out there.
LOL! I joke that when I retired, they had to lay two people off!
Two trucks, and the kids recognize the value... ;)
Actually, I teach programs designed for older workers, not for normal college age students. I'm NOT on the Academic side of the colleges.
In fact, one program that I totally designed was for the local job center. It's strictly for women returning to/entering the workplace - teaching them the computer skills they'll need in an office environment. They are all upset when the class ends and quite a few have gone on to enroll in computer classes on the academic side.
I have to say that I was shocked by the “profit aversion” discovery among, otherwise, very nice people. But, the idea cropped up again just this weekend in the “Letter to the Parishioners” from our Pastor. He pointed out that the Catholic Church was Pro-Life, Pro-Fair-work, Pro-fair treatment of workers, but “not necessarily pro-profit”.
My jaw dropped when I read that (and he’s a Republican) becaue he certainly wants all of us to give HIM our profits for the support of the church.
Where did this idea come from that PROFIT is a bad thing? Making a profit is the ONLY way employers can improve the lot of the workers.
I’d like to be able to work with my hands; whenever my father would fix something up when we lived in a two-story home, I would rarely be able to help him out. He wouldn’t let me nail any drywall, or put mud on the drywall, or fill a hole in our yard with concrete. I’d still like to be able to make things and build with my hands.
To the FReepers: there are still us young people out there that don’t want a business job, living that all day. I want a job that requires my body to work, not just my mind.
The simple fact is that most kids aren't at all motivated. Once older they gain motivation as they need to eat and generally have fewer choices.
However there is always a core group of motivated kids (about 10%). If you aren't seeing them your job is unattractive to them. Get used to working with what is actually available.
Start networking. Once you have acquired sufficient experience, start offering your services as a consultant. You could make more money than your supervisors ever dreamed of.
What such people fail to understand is that, if business profit were suddenly outlawed, everyone who had invested in business for the sake of the profit would immediately put their capital into other types of investments. Business and industry would end immediately.
Next time you see this guy you should ask if he wants the US to become like a great big Zimbabwe.
That is pretty cool.
The younger ones are in their 20s and were in the bottom of their class in school, or served time in jail. In this area, everyone wants their kid to be a doctor, or a lawyer. I know so many young lawyers who are out of work!
No school seems to be producing people who want to work in manufacturing or mechanics any more. I know a retired teacher (auto shop) who works for the auto transmission association going around trying to drum up interest in going into that field. Auto transmission experts can pretty much write their own ticket these days, there are so few of them coming up.
I’ve seen a few time on TV John Ratzenberger (’Cliff’ on “Cheers”) is travelling the country (or something like that) and urging schools to reintroduce woodworking, mechanics, etc. in the school cirriculum where they were taken out in previous years. Here’s a great article:
The Joy of Tinkering
Today’s tinkerers are tomorrow’s technicians
Talk to anyone in a skilled industry—automotive and truck repair and service, plumbing, carpentry, electrical contracting, construction, manufacturing—and you will hear the same lament: it’s getting harder and harder to find qualified workers.
The reasons for the shortage of skilled workers are complicated. One reason is that there are so many directions a young person can take when deciding on a career today: college, trade schools, the military or the service industry.
Another is the lack of skills training in the educational system. Schools have been forced to scale back skills-training programs drastically due to cuts in local, state and federal budgets and the high cost of equipment and liability insurance.
It’s a sad fact of today’s fast-paced society that few of us can spare the time or afford the equipment needed to work on our homes or personal vehicles—and our children learn by our example. The “do-it-yourself” market share is gradually migrating to the “do-it-for-me” category.
There is also an undeniable trend by some educators and parents to push young people to college and white collar professions. Some people suffer from the uniformed opinion that the trades are low-paying, dirty work with little opportunity for advancement or job satisfaction.
As a result of these factors, few young people are exposed to the trades—either at school or at home.
Not so long ago, students as young as the seventh and eighth grade were able to take “shop” classes: electrical, auto, metal, woodworking, and so on. Some of us old “gearheads” already had cars that we were working on in our early teens, so we would be ready to hit the road once we hit the magic age of 16. For me, my career in the automotive and heavy duty industry grew directly from the interest I developed in my youth while in auto shop.
There is a growing movement to address the decline of skilled workers, and the people involved include educators, professionals, parents, legislators—and at least one celebrity.
John Ratzenberger, the actor best known for his portrayal of Cliff Clavin, the know-it-all mailman on “Cheers,” is using his celebrity status to revive young people’s interest in the trades. An accomplished actor, screenwriter, director, producer and entrepreneur, Ratzenberger has a deep respect for the skilled professions, which he highlighted on his television program, “Made in America.”
Ratzenberger and other concerned groups and businesses have established the Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs Foundation. Its mission, according to its Web site, is “to avert a growing crisis in America, one that is occurring because too few young people now develop the kind of manual skills required by industries, workshops and engineering practices.
“Through mentoring programs, education and media awareness, NBTF will once again introduce young people to the pleasures of tinkering. And in that way, we will create the next generation of artisans, inventors, engineers, repairmen and skilled workers—in short, a self-sufficient, self-sustaining society.”
Ratzenberger recently took his cause to Washington, D.C. He met with a group of congressmen with strong populations of manufacturers in their districts who have formed a manufacturers “caucus,” or group of representatives with a common cause.
One of this group’s goals is to expose young people to the trades early in their career decision-making process so that more high school students would elect to enter those fields—creating a stable employee base for the manufacturing and trade industries.
By providing a good solid base of knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals through vocational/technical courses, more student will go on to technical colleges and trade schools and become the truck and car technicians, vehicle and component assembly technicians, master electricians, plumbers, and carpenters of the future.
These fields represent good paying, long term careers for many of our nation’s workforce. Through the efforts of Ratzenberger, the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus and other concerned groups, we can avert a national crisis and provide the engine for our national economy.
I urge you to visit the Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs Foundation at www.nutsandboltsfoundation.org for more information and ways to get involved.
Excellent point. I work for an old company where the average worker has been on the job easily 30 years.
One of these workers was in an accident and disabled.
More than a year later they're STILL trying to figure out what he did, much less train somebody new.
Well, there's the rub--how do I acquire 'sufficient experience' waiting for someone to die so I can get promoted. I'm already the youngest engineer in my division, and I'm 40!
I'm not kidding, and this is true across the board in defense work: I'll be the Junior Guy until I'm 70.
It's not sad, stuff is cheaper and more replaceable than ever--would you spend a day repairing a computer keyboard?
Most stuff isn't even built to be worked on anymore.
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