Training and the Industrial Workforce

Are you having problems with employee
turnover or finding qualified maintenance?

With the ageing workforce (and expected increasing retirements
over the next several years) especially in the maintenance and

industrial trades, the US Department of labor is projecting that the

job outlook for HVAC technicians, for example, to be excellent

particularly for those with training. Employment for these positions

is expected to increase faster than the average for all occupations

through 2014.1 General maintenance and repair is a large oc-
cupation with significant turnover. Many job openings are expected

to result from the retirement of many experienced maintenance

workers over the next decade.

In a study of Wisconsin manufacturers, it is believed that

organizations will have difficulty hiring and retaining replacement

workers, but also finding those with the appropriate skills and work

ethic to undertake the move toward a new economy.2. When these

organizations were questioned about what they would like to see in

the education system to meet the needs of their industries,

approximately 40 percent of the responses were related to basic

skills, technical and process training. The question is do you have

the personnel in place and have a plan of how to train them?

...for the full article click here (PDF-45KB)

by Rob Dombek

Electrical Trades Program Manager