Training camps

All images courtesy QUAL-FAB

A machine operator performs a wireless digital measurement of a bend angle. This process includes live feedback into the machine that enables the equipment to automatically correct the back-gage controls and tonnage.

How a cooperative organization helps manufacturers train their employees in-house.

Bridging the skills gap King of Credentials >> Training Camps Self-Starter Milwaukee Area Technical College

If you ask small and medium manufacturers (SMMs) what ongoing management issue is the most challenging, the answer is usually the difficulty of finding skilled applicants for job openings. This is not a new problem, and has been discussed for at least the last 2 decades.

The Center for Advanced Manufacturing Puget Sound (CAMPS), a nonprofit group based in Kent, Wash., helps its member-companies find solutions to the shortage of trainable applicants. One solution is based on collecting ideas and programs used within several companies, then developing those ideas and sharing them with a group of member-companies.

CAMPS, however, is not a training organization. We help our members determine what they are looking for and help them find existing programs or develop new ones to meet their needs. CAMPS’ mission is to be the “connector.”

In or Out

In a survey of CAMPS members, 75 percent indicated they have training budgets. In addition, 50 percent of the time our members train internally with employees as the trainers, 25 percent of the time they train internally using outside trainers, and the remaining 25 percent of the time they rely on external education and training resources.

Many reasons exist for these training approaches. Manufacturing companies are diverse and continually install new equipment. Adopting this new manufacturing technology, however, widens the skills gap, challenging training institutions to keep pace. Many schools simply do not have the budgets to buy the latest equipment and support manufacturers’ training needs in developing new potential workers. In other words, they tend to lag in the skills development needs of manufacturing operations. Another challenge is training incumbent workers. Companies often feel a sense of loyalty to help incumbent employees climb the career ladder, and off-site programs are not always available after work hours.

Many CAMPS member-companies perform metal cutting and fabrication processes. These companies are involved in many industries, including aerospace, defense, energy, transportation, marine, medicine/life sciences and food processing. The skills required include meeting military specs, developing lean processes and establishing a variety of quality and process standards. Add to that the complexities of the equipment, processes and parts, and the needs become even more demanding.

Training Declines

As economic conditions and the industrial outlook changed throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, industry-driven workforce training organizations such as the Washington Precision Metal Fabrication Association ceased operations. This organization, led and staffed by industry insiders with a direct stake in the training of the next generation of sheet-metal workers, played a pivotal role in developing the workforce by providing basic skills training, applicant screening and matching candidates with companies. After it ceased operations, there was a gap in the training pipeline.

The subsequent economic turnaround in the mid-2000s, driven by normal cyclic economic improvement and strong sales by Boeing—the most influential manufacturer in the region—exacerbated the problem. Manufacturers that survived the economic turmoil were left with a critical new challenge: Constrained by a lack of qualified candidates to fill open positions, these companies stood to lose out on revenue-generating opportunities. To survive, the industry had to develop innovative solutions to overcome the skilled-labor shortage.

As a result, many companies developed structured on-the-job training (SOJT) models that address specific company needs. This is called a “pull system,” which is an integral part of lean manufacturing and can be difficult to implement.