WSJ: Firms' New Grail: Skilled Workers

[question everything]

Firms' New Grail: Skilled Workers

U.S. Manufacturers Report Shortages Are Widespread; Critics Cite Training Cuts
By TIMOTHY AEPPEL
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
November 22, 2005; Page A2

(snip)

Eighty-one percent say they face "moderate" or "severe" shortages of qualified workers, according to a survey by the National Association of Manufacturers and Deloitte Consulting LLP. More than half of manufacturers surveyed said 10% or more of their positions are empty for lack of the right candidates. The shortfall is especially acute in skilled trades, for positions such as welders and specialized machinists. Gaps on the factory floor can make it harder for manufacturers to move quickly to exploit new market opportunities and could hasten the exodus of jobs as more employers hunt for skilled workers outside the U.S.

(snip)

Some critics say manufacturers have brought the problem upon themselves by cutting back on training programs and shifting work away from unionized locations. Unions have traditionally played a key role training industrial workers. Michael Handel, an associate professor of sociology at Northeastern University in Boston who has studied the availability of skilled workers, says companies often blur the distinction between hard skills, such as welding, and broader work habits. "Employers complain about a lack of skills, but when you scratch deeper, it's really an attitudinal issue," he says. "It's about how fast people will work or for how low a price."

The recent survey, based on responses from 815 U.S. companies of varying sizes, found that companies see the biggest shortfall in skilled production workers. Eighty percent of respondents expect those workers to be in short supply over the next three years, while 35% expect a shortage of scientists and engineers. More surprising, 25% said they expect a shortage of unskilled workers over the next three years.

(snip)

Ronald Bullock, president of Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. in St. Charles, Ill., currently has 10 openings at his company, which employs 200, including one for an electrical engineer he has been trying to fill for more than a year. Not having enough workers hurts profits, says Mr. Bullock, because it means paying more overtime to his existing employees to get projects done or farming the extra work out to others. "This has slowed the pace on some of our crucial projects," he says.

Write to Timothy Aeppel at [e-mail]

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113262811617903852.html (subscription)

[Selatius]

1. These must be smaller firms

The bigger ones have more than enough resources to off-shore projects to Chinese or Indian engineers for cheaper.

[mermaid]

2. Maybe, If Companies Stopped Being So Demanding And Choosy....

they could solve this problem.

I have been un and or under-employed for two years now. My field is clerical/data entry. I can't find anything in my field.

I have gone to the point of applying for an overnite job delivering bundles of newspapers to drop points for carriers, and also stores and racks.

I did this partly because I know the hours will never interfere with my plans on returning to school.

The interviewer was supposedly interviewing thru Friday, and then would make a decision. I called on Monday, she's still interviewing people! Hopefully would make a decision today.

I haven't heard yet, so I sent her an email, again BEGGING for the job.

I get the idea this lady does not want to hire ME, specifically...and is looking to hire absolutely anybody BUT me, because I am a transsexual.

Forget the fact that, living 25 miles from the job site, I managed to get to my interview, presentable and on time, given only 1 hour and 15 minutes notice...and thru a torrential rainstorm!

Now if that, in itself is not qualification enough, I don't know what is!!

But I think that she is engaging in discriminatory practices, trying desperately to find ANYONE other than me to hire.

If companies would quit discriminating...and quit asking workers to work for sub-standard wages (less than is necessary to live on) I think they would find a lot more workers, and workers who worked harder, too.

It galls me that companies are engaging in legal discrimination in some cases....and are asking workers to work for a wage that is not in line with rising costs of living!
Such employees are obviously inclined not to work as hard as if you paid them a fair and decent wage.

Most people I know just want to work an honest day, and get an honest day's pay for it. Seems like most companies nowadays want you to pack a day and a half's worth of work into a single day...and pay you only half a day's pay for doing it!

Not very conducive to worker morale or attitude!

Copmpanies, in short, are being penny wise and dollar foolish.

[madrchsod]

3. what they won`t say is that

they will not hire older workers because of health care costs and wages. i know that for a fact. then throw in the fact that high schools are not as interested in industrial arts as the rest of the industrial nations. that`s just a couple of problems no one wants to address....

[Rob H.]

4. Excellent point

My dad got laid off two years ago (for the first time ever--thanks, Bush!) and it took close to a year for him to find another job despite having a very long list of qualifications and experience. (He's been in electronics for about 40 years.) I think it was a big issue for potential employers that he turned 60 four months after he was laid off.

Edit: He's in excellent health (knock wood) despite being 61 now--he's in better shape physically than some of his co-workers who are 10 to 15 years younger than himself!

[Coastie for Truth]

5. The reason that they won't hire older workers is three fold

1. Health Insurance - The older the employee pool - the more you pay.

Solution- Universal, Single Payer Health Insurance that is not related to the employment relationship

2. Post-Retirement "Medi-Gap" Health Insurance - The older the employee pool - the more you pay.

Solutions
- Universal, Single Payer Health Insurance that is not related to the employment relationship
- Quit screwing around and threatening to screw around with Medicare.

3. Deferred Compensation -- Retirement and Pension Plans - The older the employee pool - the higher the cost.

Solutions
- Quit screwing around and threatening to screw around with Social Security.
Eliminate the incentives to "dip into" the pension fund, to under fund the pension fund, to use the pension fund in violation to the fiduciary duty to the employees.
Bring order out of the chaos that is the FBPGC.

It's called honesty and obedience to fiduciary duty.

[UncleSepp]

6. Oddly enough, so are Chinese businesses

I had a conversation with a co-worker who is still in close contact with friends and family in China, and who has a good solid sense for the Chinese economy. He was telling me that there are sufficient openings for senior skilled workers in Chinese manufacturing outfits that it would be a decent gamble to go to China from the USA for work training other people. The caveat is that you have to be willing to live with even less of a social safety net than what we have here in the USA. I don't know how true that is, but it makes sense. The manufacturing jobs may be going to China in great numbers, but it's hard to suddenly manufacture a crop of senior technicians with ten years of experience.

What goes around, comes around, doesn't it?