Factory hands turning into skilled workers

John read and Mark Johnson on the Gateway training center Rudy Archuleta for Bloomberg BusinessWeek

By date Shruti Singh

The housing market bust Mark Johnson made a victim of the recession, such as the downturn drained the professional Mover of hours. Johnson is now counting on training in automated machine operation to him at the forefront of the production-led recovery. He is hungry for work. "They are not going to keep you if you do not make them money," says Johnson, 29, of his potential employers.

Even with 1 in 10 production workers unemployed, can u.s. companies not enough people to run the smart machines that now dominate the factory floor. On 13 may, Johnson and a dozen others will be the first graduates in two years from a "boot camp" designed to meet the needs: a program offered by Gateway Technical College Kenosha, Wisc., that students in computer numerical control operations trains — CNC, for short.

They have jobs waiting for them only if they local manufacturers can help improve productivity, says Jim Beere, President Racine-based products from Pioneer, making transmission components. "The same people we will not hire now, we would have hired five or six years ago," said Beere, 60, that past graduates of the training, a partnership between the Gateway and local employment initiatives development centers. "Manufacturing has in the past five to seven years, a great leap forward. Just like our customers, we are raising the bar. "

The Institute for Supply Management manufacturing activity, based on a survey of purchasing managers index hit 75 last month, signaling expansion. Orders from China, India and Brazil have lifted exports of equipment companies such as Caterpillar (CAT).

In the first quarter, 51 percent of industrial manufacturers said they plan to employees in the next 12 months, adding 27 percent a year earlier a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey showed. Technicians, skilled workers and production workers are more sought after than white-collar workers support or sales and marketing employees, according to the survey. PwC also found that a quarter of manufacturers were concerned about the lack of qualified workers, up from 8 percent. "Today the average person who we hire to work in the factory in the US has two years of tech school or college education," says James w. Griffith, chief executive officer of ball bearing maker Timken (TKR) in Ohio. "This is high-tech production." Productivity in production increased 6.7 percent in 2010 from a year ago. In 2009 it increased 2.4 percent.

February, opened her first CNC Gateway boot camp in two years after companies asked the school to train more workers in this skill. Trainees spend 40 hours per week for 3 ½ months learning insert metal, read blueprints, checking the quality of the product, and operate automated machines which mould metal into parts. They acquire softer skills, such as interviewing techniques, and ways to increase productivity on a factory floor. Students tour nearby companies, many of who have helped develop the program, to understand the rhythm of the work on potential employers.

The session ends with participants a competency test for measuring job readiness. Government grants are free for those accepted into the program, which has a remarkable track record built. The seven CNC boot camps held before the recession boasted a 95 percent job placement rate for graduates, says Mark Mundl, strategic coordinator for one of the Gateway of partners, the Racine County Workforce Development Center. Pay ranges from $ 12 to $ 14 per hour.

Job-training programs funded by the Government have a long history of struggle. 2008 an audit by the u.s. Dept. of Labor Inspector General found that it couldn't figure out if the objectives of most training programs actually was met. Even the Gateway welding boot camp is not so much of a success because of a glut of available workers. The CNC programs succeeded because they directly respond to the needs of the employer, says Edward Knudson, the Director of the Gateway of the workers and economic development division.

John Lees, 42, an unemployed Carpenter and father of six in Racine, says he hopes that the CNC training and demand for workers will help him find a professional home. "I want the knowledge to good use," he says.

Knowledge is certainly needed. Manufacturers are looking for increasingly sophisticated employees who have several types of machines can work and be able to troubleshoot unattended, says Vince Leone, 44, who oversees CNC operators in a factory Teleflex (TFX) in Kenosha. (Makes Teleflex medical devices). "The days of guys putting the part in, closing the door, and pressing a button are a thing of the past," he says.

The bottom line: Plants grow more complex, workers must learn multiple tasks. Retraining is the only way for some remain employable.

Singh is a reporter for Bloomberg News.