Companies Try to Retain Older Workers

LA Times ^ | 9-3-07 | Jonoathon Peterson

[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.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Oh, I intend to say something to him about that Letter to the Parishioners. I think he thought he was writing a motivational Labor Day letter, but I think he is way off base. I just wonder, however, how so many segments of our population got so off base?

When did PROFIT become a dirty word? Hillary certainly thinks it is.

How does she expect this country ever to achieve energy independence if she taxes all the profit out of the oil business?

[Cogadh na Sith]

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.

It's not complicated at all: as described in the article, there is no road to promotion in those trades anymore, the top levels are packed with old workers and they'd rather retain them than hire anyone.

[Dinsdale]

would you spend a day repairing a computer keyboard?

Only my old Northgate. But that's because it has the control key where God intended it.

[WarEagle]

Don't know how prevalent the attitude of valuing older workers is in other areas, but in IT it's not prevalent at all. My company has laid off or retired its expertise and knowledge twice, once in the early 90's and again now.

We are just an inconvenience to the company officers and the board of directors, who have invested $6 billion dollars facilities and technology in India, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Eastern Europe, and China. They cannot seem to get rid of us fast enough.

Our company is not hiring regular full time employees in the United States.

[Jeff Chandler]

I want a job that requires my body to work, not just my mind.

You might want to consider truck driving. I saw 18-year-old kids start their first jobs loading freight for an LTL freight company. It's dirty, miserable, back breaking work with often abusive supervisors. The company trained them in their off hours to drive, so that when they turned 21, they became P&D (pickup and delivery) drivers. The work is and physical, often with long hours, but also mentally challenging, and it pays well enough to raise a family. When they got enough experience and seniority, they went into line haul. It's physically challenging in a different way, but not back breaking, so guys do it into their 70's. A good linehaul run can pay up to six figures.

[dragnet2]

When did PROFIT become a dirty word?

Oh come on... Look at the housing industry for example. The greedy lending/banking/mortgage industry became so damn greedy they lost sight of their professional standards and ethics, lending to anyone regardless if they could pay, all for those loan commissions etc.

Then throw in the millions of illegal low wage labor that all the corporations and employers love so much....

Profits regardless of consequences.

It's disgusting.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I have the utmost respect for tool & die makers and have known a fair number. In that field, there is nothing to replace many years of experience.

That said, I would reco you speak (or have your son speak) to some T&D makers you may know. The story told by the ones I know, and I assume they are pretty darn skilled, is not one of plentiful job prospects unless they want to live in some fairly out-of-the-way places (eg; cheap dirt) and the wages paid are nothing like they once were. I’m talking about a classic case of outsourcing.

Regards...

[patton]

I had to hire 22 folks a couple of years ago - first, I hired experienced professionals. All I could find.

Then, I hired degreed people without experience.

Then I was stuck.

As my boss said, eventually, you run out of folks who can do this.

So I raided the local school system, and hired all their math teachers.

If you can’t buy it, build it...

BTW, ever notice that nobody has ever outsourced plumbing?

When there is SH&T in the bathtub, you really don’t care to talk to a service tech in India.

You want it gone.

[uglybiker]

Companies Scramble to Hire Engineers

[Jagman]

Remember it only takes one dumb ass to disrupt a crew

Yeah, just ask Tony Soprano!

[stylin19a]

sorry..I was trying to be funny...

my son (now 26) is a year away from his degree in business accounting.

he went to work for a lift truck company 3 years ago, to finance his last year of college.

They trained him from the ground up.

He liked it so much he never went back to school.
He’s learning a couple of trades. He’s currently a battery/charger technician.

He’s about to become an apprentice lift truck mechanic.

He saw an opportunity. A Huge number of workers are about to retire.

His boss is my best friend. I wont allow him to tell me about my son.

But he insisted on telling me the kind of man my son has become.

He always shows up.
He’s on time.
He’s respectful of his peers and bosses.
He’s respectful of the clients’ time & money.
But what I was most impressed with is..no matter what he has been asked to do, he never once said..”it’s not my job”

There is so much opportunity in the trades and the kids can’t see it.

hope you find a few gems....good luck

[wastedyears]

I made a thread on here, still thinking about it. As long as you don’t have to move 150lb packages, I’d be alright. I’m a small guy and don’t weigh 150, so moving that would be very hard for me without at least a simple machine.

[peggybac]

My sister who had been a flight attendant/trainer for TWA since the 70s, and then for American after the buyout, was laid off after 9/11. She was in her early 50s and had no other skills other than what she had attained from the airlines. She has excellent communications skills and thrived as a training manager when called for. Anyway, Trader Joe’s opened up shop in St. Louis and hired my sister and within a year she was in a management position. She is thriving there, even with the long hours and manual labor even the managers have to endure, and is as happy as a clam. Had she applied in Los Angeles, I wonder if they would have even considered her because of her age and weight (she’s not 110 pounds LOL). They made a choice to hire an older employee with no retail experience and for that, I’m an avid supporter of Trader Joes.

[Little Bill]

When my kid was young, he is 35 now, I let the kid pull a wrench when I was working on my cars, help me rebuild engines, hobby, and do the scutt work.

I told him that I would send him to any college he could get into, said dad I am not a scholar, after a try in business, he is now the Chief Mechanic for a large Cement company and bitches about the help.

[A knight without armor]

That is so true. I notice one person can make so many others miserable. My question has always been WHY does management allow this?

[Jeff Chandler]

I'll be the Junior Guy until I'm 70.

You need to think outside the box. If you think you are stuck in a dead-end job, then work the job to pay the bills, and start working on a plan for a better future. Figure out where your skills can lead you, and they they don't lead in a direction you like, acquire others.

Approach your career problem the way you would approach an engineering problem.

[wastedyears]

I lived in Brooklyn from birth almost up to age 19. Probably the biggest thing I worked on then was my bike. Not a dirt bike, but a mountain bike. Didn’t know exactly how to do things, and half of the time I made the problem worse, but I still completely disassembled an old bike and put it back together. If it still worked the same, I don’t know but I can’t remember.

I still would like a chance to do stuff like that. I need to find a voc/tech school that’s not a high school by me.

[muleskinner]

I would encourage him to learn Pro/E. It's the most, or one of the most, common computer aided drafting program. They have student editions, and there are text books.

Then, a Mechanical Engineering degree. Combine those two, and you have someone who can write their own ticket. He can contract at $75/hour +/-.

Also, practical hands-on experience can be invaluable. Like the guys who helped dad rebuild an engine, or the dads who helped build the kids first car. Mom must stay patient - as the men will spend long hours in their "cave".

Encourage his interests.

[A knight without armor]

Yes, and over 50. It is so obvious all over the place. Why don’t the people who hire realize this?

[Cogadh na Sith]

You need to think outside the box. If you think you are stuck in a dead-end job, then work the job to pay the bills, and start working on a plan for a better future.

Software System engineering on defense systems is a dream job, but just like everywhere else, the top ranks of earners are packed with old guys who are going to Die in Place....

It's a demographic problem.