Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Manufacturers Coalition looks to grow skilled workforce
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
The age of the dirty manufacturing plant has ended, yet the image remains.
The Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition and education providers are not only trying to change this perception, they also are trying to grow the supply of machinists and make sure they have the skills manufacturers want and need.
“People can envision what it is to be a welder, but they don’t understand what machining is about,” said Jessica Borza, executive director of the MVMC.
The MVMC, which consists of nearly 50 manufacturing members, 45 education providers and others from the tri-county area, designed a machining career pathway for educators to know what skills manufacturers want to see from potential employees.
“Now it is a matter of working together to refine that process,” Borza said.
The coalition started with machining because of the high need for machinists, but a pathway for welding also will be done.
The pathway starts at the high-school level, works up to the level of journeyman machinist and on to the level of a manufacturing engineer.
“We don’t see enough entry-level candidates that meet the needs of the industry,” said Brian Benyo, president of MVMC and Brilex Industries Inc. in Youngstown.
Benyo said a majority of the manufacturers in the area are in need of skilled machinists. The lack of machinists affects companies in need of skilled workers because it limits their competitiveness.
“It is vital to the industrial manufacturing base of this region,” he said.
The goal is to inform students at any age that these jobs provide job security and a decent wage. A journeyman machinist can make between $18 to $22 an hour, and a machine operator can make $12 to $15 an hour.
Steven Kiraly, owner of Kiraly Tool and Die and secretary of the MVMC, believes there is a lack of knowledge about the opportunities in the field, and it’s up to the manufacturers to inform students and others about the opportunity.
“We also have to market ourselves to the trade schools and to the high-school counselors,” Kiraly said. “It is terrific work for an alternative to going to college.”
The Trumbull County Career and Technical Center adult-education program already has implemented suggestions made by the MVMC into its career pathway. The program began to offer a full-time machining program once leaders at the school were aware of the need for machinists. The 12-month program starts in January.
There are nine enrolled now who will graduate with four National Institute of Metalworking Skills. TCTC went from offering one NIMS to at least four of the credentials.
The Mahoning County Career and Technical Center offers both a high-school precision machining program and an adult precision machining program. MCCTC will offer the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council course that allows students to become certified production technicians in six weeks. MCCTC anticipates this course will be initiated in the fall. The career center also is looking to expand the NIMS credentials offered at the adult level.
Eastern Gateway Community College received $2.5 million from the U.S. Department of Labor to develop a new manufacturing training center. Another $1 million grant will fund the creation of manufacturing training programs.
School officials were in search of space for the new center, and they have found a downtown space and are working out the details of obtaining it.
The program can start in August with just classroom courses rather than the lab courses that will come later, said Dante Zambrini, interim vice president of EGCC.
“It is a matter of supply and demand and right now the supply is limited and the demand is high,” Zambrini said. “That is why it is a great opportunity.”