Aerospace in Minnesota - Minnesota Precision Manufacturing ...

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Manufacturers Talk with“People have themistaken impression that...we are not making anything inAmerica anymore. That’s not true.Thirteen percent of all the jobs inMinnesota are in manufacturing…It’s a really important part ofour economy.”Minnesota manufacturers need a plentiful and skilledworkforce in order to stay ahead.On March 6, 2008, that message was conveyed loud andclear in a series of discussions that took place betweenMinnesota manufacturers and Governor Tim Pawlenty.“We’re grateful that you’re taking the time to visit with usabout the state of manufacturing in Minnesota,” Pawlentysaid to group of about 30 people inside Waterous Company,a fire hydrant manufacturer in South St. Paul. “And we’reinterested in getting an updated perspective from you aboutmanufacturing in the state.”Pawlenty was accompanied by Dan McElroy, commissionerof the Minnesota Department of Employment and EconomicDevelopment (DEED), and David Olson, Minnesota Chamberpresident and chair of the Minnesota State Colleges andUniversities Board of Trustees (MnSCU).The purpose of the manufacturing roundtables, sponsored bythe Minnesota Chamber, was to provide an opportunityfor manufacturers to share their successes and challenges withstate leaders.In Rochester, Nancy Domaille, co-founder and chair of theboard of Domaille Engineering, said her company is pressed tofind workers for its ultra precise machining and polishing ofoptical fiber components.“In the past, we have had an easier time finding people inthis region,” she said. “We’re now having to go farther out tofind qualified people that we need for jobs here at DomailleEngineering,” she told the governor.In Brainerd, Mike Yeager, president of Yeager Machinein Waconia, expressed similar concerns. He said manymanufacturers are ready to hire workers with the right skills.“Every job shop or contract manufacturing company I knowwould hire two or three good people if we could find themtoday,” he said.The latest information from DEED, in fact, shows that whileorders are up, overall employment is down in the industry. In arecent study, 52 percent of manufacturers surveyed said they hadpositions unfilled, because they couldn’t find qualified applicants– even though many of these jobs pay upwards of $50,000 peryear. Machinists, electricians and welders, in particular, seem tobe in high demand.The governor himself said he knew of a Lakeville facility thatwas looking for a welder and willing to pay as much as $70,000per year with overtime. “There are some wonderful jobs out
the Governorthere in manufacturing that pay well with benefits,” Pawlentyacknowledged.So why aren’t more people snagging these jobs? That wasthe focus of the discussions.“It’s frustrating,” Pawlenty said. “People have the mistakenimpression that manufacturing’s a dead industry and thatwe are not making anything in America anymore. That’s nottrue. Thirteen percent of all the jobs in Minnesota are inmanufacturing…It’s a really important part of our economy.”The root of the problem, however, may be at the high schoollevel, according to Terry Grendahl, vice president of operationsat Gauthier Industries, because schools no longer maintain thevocational equipment for students to work with during class.As a result, they are not exposed to manufacturing careers.“Kids don’t have a chance to try welding,” he said. “If theydon’t get a taste, they won’t pay to learn to be a welder later.”Ultimately, the decision to close high school programs affectshow many students sign up for college programs. Representativesfrom Austin’s Riverland Community College, RochesterCommunity and Technical College and Dakota County TechnicalCollege told the governor that they had recently cancelledmachining and welding programs due to low enrollment.Making the ConnectionIf there was one thing most people agreed with, it was theneed to connect with students in an exciting way. Career fairsjust don’t cut it, they said, and the current education systemis outdated.“We’re in an age of YouTube, MySpace, Facebook andPhotobucket,” Pawlenty said. “The way kids absorb and learnis so different today. Kids sitting in front of someone justlecturing at the white board are often flat-out bored,”Pawlenty said.“How about a video game called ‘Welding Hero?’” jokedMcElroy, only half kidding.Jason Demars, computer integrated machining instructor atSouth Central Technical College in Faribault, brought up anotheridea. He told the governor about the Manufacturing EducatorsCoalition (MEC), which is a group of local technical collegeswith one goal: to draw students to manufacturing. A Web site,www.tomakeit.org, is one of its marketing strategies.“To be honest, we could use some assistance,” Demars said.The panel expressed interest in the joint marketing effort,and McElroy mentioned that DEED is investing in the “DreamIt! Do It!” campaign through the National Association ofManufacturers (NAM).In addition to a lack of skilled workers, companies also citedincreased competition in today’s global economy as a majorfactor affecting their business. Companies suggested a fewways the state could help, including giving a tax credit to newbusinesses, cutting government spending, training teachers ata faster pace and repealing the sales tax on capital equipment.“We’ve been at the capitol now for five years trying to getthis sales tax eliminated for capital equipment purchases,” saidMark Hockley, president of Nico Products, after the roundtablediscussion. “Everybody says it’s a good idea. Nobody understandswhy we have it. But we still have it. I understand there are budgetissues, but come on, let’s put some muscle behind this.”While none of the suggestions mentioned during themanufacturing roundtables are likely to prompt any immediateaction, Hockley still felt the discussions were worthwhile.He said he hopes they will at least trickle down to the governor’sappointees and other elected officials.When McElroy was asked how the discussions will influencestate action, he had this to say: “The manufacturing roundtablesreinforced much of what we have been hearing from surveysand employers – the obstacles they are facing tend to be relatedto finding a skilled and productive workforce. We were able toget a stronger sense of where the job skills needs are so that wecan better target training dollars through programs such as theMinnesota Job Skills Partnership, which benefits manufacturingand other industries. We will continue working to build thepool of talent that drives this important sector of our state’seconomy.” PMThe last manufacturing roundtablestook place in October of 2003.At that time, manufacturers made thefollowing suggestions for state action: neighboring and competing states simplify the permitting process and industry employee healthcare benefits
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Aerospace in Minnesota - Minnesota Precision Manufacturing ...

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