The Great American Mismatch. Plenty of Manufacturing jobs, too few people with the necessary skills

National Review ^ | 11/26/2012 | Jillian Kay Melchior

[driftdiver]

Why work in manufacturing when you can make just as much on welfare?

[Dr. Sivana]

here are still plenty of people who don’t go to college or just spend two years or go to tech colleges. Many “colleges” are just the old vocational scools with a more expensive name.

The manufacturers don’t want to pay more or provide on-the-job training. They have the means to solve this problem if the really need the help.

[jcsjcm]

What I have found about the manufacturing industry is that the majority of these jobs (around here) are contracted out. They last for 3 - 6 months and then they give you your walking papers.

I worked one of these jobs which lasted 5 months. Let me tell you this, I loved the job, but I was very unhappy with the contract terms. I’ve been offered several since and I will never take another contract job. They hire in volume and then let you go in volume! Very sad atmosphere!

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Why work in manufacturing when you can make just as much on welfare?

_________________________

According to the article: “A manufacturing worker makes an average of $23.97 on hour as of October 2012. Manufacturing jobs are also more likely to come with good benefits than jobs in other industries, the Brookings Institute has reported.”

Also in the article: “... it would pay a $54,000 starting salary to a high-school graduate who could competently repair and maintain machinery.”

Are you telling me that someone on Welfare gets something equivalent to $24/hour or $54,000 a year plus benefits?

[Utmost Certainty]

Many employers have asinine qualification requirements in terms experience/certification/etc., that are leaving many job positions unfilled.

Until employers wise up and lower their standards, as well as become more willing to foot the bill for proper training, this will continue to be the case.

[cripplecreek]

A little OJT goes a long way.

I’m a high school drop out who ended up spending a decade programming, operating and maintaining industrial robots.

[Patriot95]

“Why work in manufacturing when you can make just as much on welfare?”

Exactly. Socialism kills the motivation and the desire to work and innovate. Why work when your neighbor who just sits on his front porch all day makes the same money as you do?

[jcsjcm]

Many manufacturing jobs make pretty decent wages! I agree with you there!

[CGASMIA68]

In 2002 I did some telecom work for a machine shop in Laud Fl.that ran 3 shifts 24/7.They made some type of parts for oil mfg.
The parking lot was full of very nice cars from Dade Cnty.
I asked the guy why so many Dade workers.He told me we can't find any one up here in Brwd and these are all mostly Cuban folks from Miami.He then told me that it was getting harder to find those and no one wants to be a machinist.He told me the next step would be to shut down and move to another country.Not sure how it played out.
Tells me it wasnt taxes welfare or anything else it was spoiled American kids feel mfg jobs are beneath them..

I saw recently a elevator repair tech(escalators people movers) is up and coming

[cunning_fish]

X-box generation is not about to maintain machinery anyway. $24 a hour is nice but too tricky. They’ll be ok with fewer if it only takes to do nothing.

[CGASMIA68]

BS

[SeekAndFind]

RE: I’m a high school drop out who ended up spending a decade programming, operating and maintaining industrial robots.

What did they hire you for in the beginning?

Why were they willing to take a chance on you (no college degree )?

How many college grads are working with you now?

How much on average does the job pay in the USA?

Thanks, your answer will be helpful to a lot of folks in this thread.

[TexasGunLover]

If you pay someone to do nothing, nothing is what they'll do.

I recently posted a $85k+ job here in the DFW area and got exactly 4 responses. Now granted, it is in the IT field, where unemployment is less than 1.4%, but still, we simply don't have qualified candidates in the US for many jobs.

[SMARTY]

Being a productive member of society (at ANY level) is NOT as glamourous the jobs requiring a ‘Kumbaya degree’!!

:)

[LibsRJerks]

Many employers have asinine qualification requirements in terms experience/certification/etc., that are leaving many job positions unfilled.

Until employers wise up and lower their standards, as well as become more willing to foot the bill for proper training, this will continue to be the case.

**

EXACTLY! Come ON —how hard are these jobs? Can’t they just take people with half a brain and provide a bit of training? Same thing seems to happen everywhere — they put out a laundry list of their “required qualifications” which NO ONE can obtain in a million years ....and then they wonder why they can’t find enough people.

Same thing goes in nursing. They only want “experienced” RN’s, when all it would take might be a three month training period on the job to turn one into an “experienced” RN.

Combine this with ASSANINE HR departments who can’t walk and chew gum at the same time and, somtimes, this is what you get.

[driftdiver]

There have been numerous articles that you can make in that neighborhood with food stamps, welfare, and all the other programs out there.

you don’t get dirty either

[driftdiver]

You are wrong.

[Patriot95]

The problem is that the positions requiring bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees are mainly management/corporate positions. Without manufacturing, there is nothing left to manage. Other than engineering and science degrees of course.

[Utmost Certainty]

Yup.

When even employers for minimum wage jobs expect people to send in resumes, you know there’s a problem with their hiring practices. This is stupid.