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Employer Quotes

The quotes below are from employers in this industry: Manufacturing

They are talking about this topic: Educational Partnerships

 

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The quotes below are about this issue:
Many employers speak of the need for businesses and educational institutions to work with K-12 institutions to educate children about the manufacturing industry and related career opportunities. It would also be beneficial to educate guidance counselors and parents about the manufacturing industry to further enhance the possibility that youth consider manufacturing employment opportunities.

Employer Quote Region
"Now you're getting to the crux of the issue—we need more of a feeder system, including parents saying, 'It's not a shame to be a machine operator. You don't have to be a doctor or a philosopher. You can get a good career being a welder or a computer operator or something like that.' But that's going to be a long road to hoe. I watched the news this morning, and a person was on there talking about the higher education committee that he's on. And he said, 'Everybody needs to go to college.' You can tell he's trying to make this shift towards encouraging some kind of post-secondary education, but the word he used was 'college,' and that word tends to mean a four-year degree. He said it three or four times and corrected himself every time. You could see him struggle." Northwest
"It's a free country, right? People are going to go to whatever college they want, and take whatever classes they want. And, to be more clear about it, that's why they want to hear from employers, to know: What's the demand? There are too many elementary education teachers, so maybe you shouldn't be an elementary education teacher. So, that is one of the outcomes of this process, to be more clear about where there is a demand and what kind of education is needed for that job so—to some extent—you can steer students towards jobs that are actually available." Northwest
"There was a group at one time, but it didn't hold up when the economy got shaky a few years back. But we're going to bring that group back together. We're going to start out with a small group of five or six of us. And we'll need to figure out what direction we want to take. Is it going to be about training? Or our growth patterns? Or maybe something else that suits all our members. And we're going to do a region five area group and start getting those meetings going again. We need to do things like get marketing materials together so that everyone in school knows that manufacturing offers cool and sexy jobs, not just dull and boring stuff. We're serious about that. And that's part of this group, too, to get a little more enthusiasm back with manufacturing." Northwest
"Our key difficulty is just getting enough interested kids and others—like returning adult students—into that pipeline." Northwest
"Employer 1: I'm concerned that when we've got kids that are very good in math—because we're stressing that in our high schools—that they're the kids that are going to be the higher learners or the academics rather than the machinists, the CNCs, and the hands-on welders. In the old days, the hands-on group didn't need the technology degree that they need now. Our equipment has changed. So, the mindset of those kids needs to change in school. We need to somehow let our youth know that it's going to be a higher requirement on this side because of the technological advances we've made. That's our biggest struggle and our biggest gap right now.

Employer 2: You can no longer go into machining as a way to avoid math."		 Northwest
"The Superintendent of Brainerd Schools met with a group of employers last week, and he shared that the students that are taking trig and calculus are not the students that are going to go into tech programs. At that meeting, we talked about the missed opportunity in creating more applied math in the high school. So, I want to make sure that that's taken under consideration as it relates on a statewide level. Creating more opportunities for applied math." Northwest
"Even at the high school level, I don't think there's enough emphasis placed on—if you're going to do well in math and science—it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be an engineer. There are a lot of people who do well in math and science who may want to do something different." Northwest
"A local high school just started a production class. We're excited about that. We'll try and partner and stay involved with them, but there are not enough kids in it. We still need that exciting manufacturing career propaganda stuff." Northwest
"We just recently had a joint Northwest Manufacturers meeting. And the one thing came out of there was how their machinery is obsolete for manufacturers but that it could be used for educational purposes. There is a trend towards taking that older equipment into the high schools so they can use it." Northwest
"We need to get the tools into the high schools so that they can use them. But then there is a marketing piece, too. There needs to be a presence of employers presenting these tools and helping teachers. If you've got the right folks in there to kind of market it—not just give the tools to the industrial tech teachers—but also kind of make sure that action happens, then there is a pipeline and a relationship built with kids. It lets them know about the career opportunities. The kids can connect with someone like a manager that has a career in the field, so they get that connection and see what a career would look like." Northwest
"There needs to be a link from the high schools to the colleges. There seems to be somewhat of a different mentality between high school and college. So, if we can link those, there does seem to be some manufacturing equipment out there that would be available." Northwest
"There needs to be more focused career education in the schools. I truly believe it should start in elementary school and middle school. We need to be able to help kids understand what the different career choices are. I think we've lost that focus.

If we could do with the technology classes what they've done so well with the English classes and the sciences classes—of getting some post-secondary credit at the high school level—that would be good. Then, maybe folks could go into a two-year degree program with some actual college credits. Because we really see a link to those two-year degree certificates. So, I do think there needs to be a real connection. And then we can help with the high school teachers because some of the stuff that we need isn't maybe the most fun stuff to teach. But this is where the jobs are, and this is where these kids are going to be able to come and start making a career, and that is important as well."		 Northwest
"Over the last six months, we've provided a significant investment to our local high school programs involving technology. And we're not giving them the leftover stuff. We have them using the technology that we currently use in our facility. So, that is a two-way street for us. Because it does provide us with training for our own internal side of the business, but then these high school kids are getting exposure to this technology. In some cases, they've got newer stuff than what we have in the plant because this new generation of power sources came out, and that was exciting to them. And to see the enthusiasm that they get from that—because they're not just getting this rusty, old machine—they're getting current technology. I see a small percentage of them that are excited about the opportunity—to be able to learn the trade and to be able to pursue a position with our company.

There have been several conversations I've had at the schools where I've taught my career path and where it has taken me. And it's a path that's kind of been all over the place within the manufacturing sector. So, it's just getting them to realize what opportunities are really out there. And if they were able to do something at the high school level, then I guess the utopia of the program would be that they could do welding/fabrication work that might help them get credits taken care of at a [MnSCU college] level or something. Where they are already working towards college-level credits while still in high school, so that those two programs—the high school and the post-secondary—work in unison.

And then you've got the students that say, 'Hey, I'd like to be a welder at the facility. And I can still go through that same course, and I'm going to have all the skill sets that I need to be able to go into the industry.' It does take a lot of effort at the local level to be able to start getting that excitement there. We're starting to build traction, but it does take a lot of resources and hard work to make that move."		 Northwest
"Would it be viable for high school welding students to get some kind of AP [advanced placement] credit for their welding classes? We already have AP for college English. Maybe there could be a program where a student could earn credits if they take advantage of the opportunities in industrial technology classes? Maybe that is the question for the colleges because it might encourage some students—the ones who might not otherwise consider taking a welding class—if they knew they'd get some college credits if they pass the test." Northwest
"Let's put some forethought in this industry and build it from that local high school level through the industry level and into the college level. Because that is our lifeblood. We need that workforce for us to be able to survive as companies." Northwest
"It seems to me we're talking about two things. One is how do we hire people in general and build a pipeline, and the other is how do we develop those skills. And, looking at high school, we've all talked about how parents play a huge part in how their children select their careers. If we had more community engagement between higher education and businesses—like events for kids in our communities with their parents there—then we can talk about the opportunities in many factories, and that career pathway opportunity for those kids to move from one job to another. I think you would have more support from the parent if they could see what the technology levels actually are in the industry." Northwest
"Another thought I had was the possibility of sharing instructors between the colleges and the high schools. Often, it's hard for the high schools to have teachers that have the higher-level skills in manufacturing. So, maybe we could do some kind of instructor sharing? And, again, it is creating interest in those kids by offering them more opportunities in grade school or high school." Northwest
"Too many people view manufacturing as an assembly line. Well, it's not. And if you do choose this path, you would accelerate your personal growth and—of course—the company's growth as well." Northwest