Self-starter: Drilling Performance

Courtesy of All images in main article: Robert Pierpont, CSS

Toolmaker Alex Pabon has been working at CSS for 5 years and credits the company’s apprenticeship program for opening doors to him that would not have been otherwise.

Bridging the skills gap King of Credentials Training Camps >> Self-Starter Milwaukee Area Technical College

Training is vital to the future of U.S. manufacturing, yet it appears to be in short supply. Training for skilled manufacturing jobs has been hit by a perfect storm of budget cuts and the mistaken idea that all high school students should attend college. As a result, it is difficult to fill critical positions with trained workers.

At our company, Farmington, Conn.-based Connecticut Spring & Stamping, which has more than 420 employees at facilities in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Mexico and Asia, the situation had become so desperate that, to meet capacity and continue to grow, we had to replace state-funded training with our own programs. These new programs are tailored to the skill sets required for tool and die makers and various spring coiler setup operations.

Rapid Growth

Our company, growing at about 20 to 30 percent per year, has struggled for the past decade to find qualified workers. For 4 decades before that, CSS and other manufacturers relied on state-supported manufacturing sciences programs at local colleges and technical schools to provide training, including tool and die making and spring coiler setup—but no longer.

“As the manufacturing companies and jobs migrated to the south or overseas, the state lost interest and stopped funding these programs,” said Steve Dicke, vice president of sales and marketing at CSS. “We would run an ad for a spring setup person and would rarely get any applicants with the proper training.”

Many likely candidates were pursuing computer programming training. Although the manufacturing jobs at our shop require computer literacy, they also require an additional set of manual skills—the ability to effectively maneuver parts and machines.

We have had to rely on overtime in the short term. “Managers are working longer hours and are leaning harder on key employees to support customer needs,” Dicke said. “In addition, we do not take on a new opportunity unless we know we can fully support it.”

Falling by the Wayside

To become a certified skilled worker in Connecticut, individuals must complete apprenticeships comprised of 6,000 to 8,000 hours of on-the-job training. The actual number of hours depends on the specific job, with toolmakers requiring the most training, and workers must also complete 432 to 600 hours of related school-based training. CSS and other companies offering apprenticeships must be registered with the state apprenticeship program.

CSS expects that workers will complete the company’s apprenticeship program and get to competency level in about 3,000 hours.

Our apprenticeship program is based on completion of a set of work standards, including turning, horizontal and vertical milling, grinding, drilling, sawing and cutoff, as well as orientation, bench assembly and related training at a technical school.

In the past, apprentices received this related training at trade schools, such as the nearby E.C. Goodwin Technical School, attending about 4 hours per week during working hours as part of the required program. Apprentices were graded on their knowledge and placed in a program based on skill level. They would be given credit towards the related training hours for skills they already had.

Today, the on-the-job and related training requirements remain the same, but rather than being placed in programs to match their skill level and receive credit for skills they have, apprentices are forced to take full- semester evening courses. For example, we have two apprentices close to completing the state apprenticeship process but they have been frustrated with the 500-hour schooling component. They have nowhere to go to take the specific classes they need. Instead, they have to take time off from work and attend a group of courses, not all of which are relevant because the programs seem to be more focused on college aptitudes than manufacturing skills.

We have approached vocational high schools to run courses but found their emphasis to be on training nurses, electricians, carpenters and similar professions. The schools have told us that there are not enough people for them to offer these courses, but we know the jobs are there.

Bridging the Gap

In 2012, CSS created an in-house apprenticeship program, including tracks for CNC production setup, press and fourslide die makers, stamping press setup operators, fourslide setup operators and heat-set setup operators. The apprenticeship program is only offered to current CSS employees looking to advance and requires just a high school diploma or GED.