Machining.Blog® is a weekly blog focused on manufacturing career development. It features blog articles on the fundamentals of manufacturing for aspiring machinists. Our goal is to create an interest in manufacturing in the USA. Our writer Matthew Schowalter has worked in manufacturing for 24 years, and he covers the topics that matter to someone starting their career in manufacturing.
“The soft skills the machinist uses are the unseen tools in their box and can directly impact the success or failure of a dreamed after machining career.”
All in Collaboration
Since 2015, I have closely observed the manufacturing industry’s ongoing struggle with employment shortages. Despite numerous programs designed to address this issue, most operate at a level that is too broad, missing the specific needs of local communities. I believe the solution lies in fostering simple, direct communication and collaboration at the local level, led by industry champions who can empower stakeholders to take meaningful action.
I was provided with a few opportunities to talk about my STEM project and my career in several schools. It can be a very rewarding experience to a part of. I never saw myself as a speaker or presenter but with my deep knowledge in the subject, I developed a passion for sharing my experiences in manufacturing.
Communication and collaboration are important in the manufacturing industry. If we want to grow the industry, we need to keep up on the communication and collaboration. We must Communicate, Collaborate, and Connect and do it on a Consistent basis.
In my twenty-four years of manufacturing experience, I have discovered that manufacturing can be a great industry to work in. I started as a youth apprentice in machining and then served a registered apprenticeship as a Tool and Die Maker. Over the course of my time spent in manufacturing, I was a team leader and a manufacturing engineer.
With the shortage of manufacturing workers in the United States we must start to investigate the situation closer to fill the jobs of today and tomorrow. Besides the worker compensation, benefits, work environment, and career development topics that may influence career decisions in manufacturing, we should now look closer into the following topics.
The Red Raider Manufacturing program in the Sheboygan Area School District had 1,090 students in the 2021-22 school year. Its mission is to give all SASD students access to the most up-to-date, relevant and exciting learning experience to succeed. The vision of the program is education and industry partnering to turn a manufacturing/technical career into an aspiration. The students in the program are high achieving, proud of what they do, and career ready.
Adapting to the shortage of workers was hard and it is getting harder. In my time as a machine shop leader at a medical manufacturing company the shortage of workers was present for many years before I started to analyze the manufacturing industry. I started looking into the problem by reaching out to students at a career fair in 2016. Out of the 1,000 students that attended the career fair, we found about ten students that were engaged in manufacturing. That one percent of students that were engaged all told us that they had a relative that worked in manufacturing, so they wanted to do the same. It was at that point that I opened my eyes to some of the issues that the industry faces.
