Anyone who is involved in manufacturing at any level in Wisconsin must have heard of these topics of discussion recently: skills gap; workforce development; skilled trades; or lastly, “Man, I can’t find any good craftsman.”
This discussion has been brewing for five or six years, maybe a decade. Well, if it does sound familiar, maybe we better hit the panic button.
Common sense tells us that the cycle of baby boomers is starting to retire and will continue to retire for the next 10 to 12 years. In Wisconsin, this will equate to approximately 8,000 to 10,000 people leaving the skilled labor force every year.
This loss of knowledge and skill must be replaced!
Many of us who are searching for solutions may have read the Sullivan report or possibly the “Be Bold” report or worked with our local tech college to find skilled workers.
Now, allow me to focus on one BIG issue that I think is missing! Just so you know that I’ve been down this road, for 25 years I was deeply involved in steel fabrication, machinery production, welding, shearing, punching, forming, machining and assembly. I have hired hundreds of people for industry and unfortunately had to fire a few along the way also.
So, attention business owners. Here is a very important question. Would you hire a young worker if they possessed the following skills?
1. Good basic math, fractions, decimals, conversions.
2. Good measuring skills, in fractions, in 10ths 100ths 1000ths and metric.
3. Basic blueprint reading. (You remember, front view, top view, side view.)
4. How to operate an overhead crane and lift safely.
5. Operation of a forklift safely, and knowledge of how to use a few hand tools.
6. General shop safety.
These are my Super 6 Basic Skills, and you know what I would hire this person in an instant! Now, I know that it would be nice if this person would show up on time to work every day, and we don’t know that until we hire. However we business owners must help retain and retrain our Wisconsin workforce. We all know that we could point fingers in many directions as to why we don’t have young people equipped with the basics, but let’s not.
Let’s fix it.
So again, if this person was ready to go, would you hire and how many?
I hope to get feedback at Rep.Honadel@legis.wi.gov as soon as possible. Let me know. Our Wisconsin workforce is too important to neglect.
Sincerely,
State Rep. Mark Honadel (21st Assembly District-South Milwaukee)
