Personnel

The 54th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference scheduled for June 25-29 in Louisville, Kentucky, is expected to draw more than 6,000 students, with a fraction of them competing to be named the best CNC milling specialist, CNC technician and CNC turning specialist in the nation. “This is a great opportunity for students to see where their skill levels are compared with their peers,” said Steve Arteman, technical support engineer at CGTech Inc., Irvine, California, the developer of Vericut CNC simulation and verification software.

A survey by the Associated General Contractors of America concluded that approximately 62 percent of firms are unable to fill skilled trade positions--jobs that require a set of skills and knowledge but not necessarily a postsecondary degree. Seventy four percent of firms also predict a deficit of qualified skilled trade workers as baby boomers retire over the next five years. The good news is that employers are not sitting on the sidelines.

To celebrate Mikron Tool SA's 20th anniversary, a dozen employees will cycle from the Rottweil branch in Germany to the parent company in Agno, Switzerland, over four days. The participants are using the trip to support the Greenhope Foundation, which benefits children with cancer.

My Jan. 29 blog post, "Simple steps improve shop websites for hiring," received an insightful reply from Gerry Anger, president of Granger Sales Inc.

Julian Cornwall, a 17-year-old junior in the Butler Tech precision machine program at Colerain Career Center, has a big decision ahead of him. Companies looked at his portfolio and shop samples and talked to his instructor about his work during a recent skills competition. He had 11 job offers in hand when a trio of executives from the Feintool Group stopped by his machine to talk to him. When they left, his options had increased by another offer.

A precision machining supplier has come up with a way to address the skills shortage problem. Micron Manufacturing Co., Walker, Mich., lets workers create their own schedules. You want to be there for your first-grader's field trip? Do it. Want to have a long lunch with your aging mom? You can.

Although millions of manufacturing jobs may need to be filled in the years to come as baby boomers continue to retire, many manufacturers already struggle with unfilled positions. One efficient way to combat the problem is by improving company websites, said Claudia Pennington, co-founder and CEO of DIY Marketing, Marietta, Pa.

There was nothing at their first meeting that suggested to Chris Salow that Amanda Hutchings would one day be president of his Peak Manufacturing Corp. and take it to record revenue. It was 2007, and she was applying for a job as marketing manager at his Shop Rat Foundation, a Jackson area-based nonprofit that teaches area high school kids how to operate factory machinery and prepare for skilled, well-paying jobs upon graduation. She was 22, and although she had graduated from Baker College with a degree in business administration with honors, she was so nervous about the interview that she had broken out in hives.