SKILLED TRADESPEOPLE & MAINTENANCE WORKERS

I was encouraged a couple of years ago to discover an article in the OMAHA WORLD-HERALD by Janice Podsada, “Community Colleges, Local Unions Offer Apprenticeships, Programs to Train for Jobs Increasingly in Demand.”  Here’s an excerpt:

“ .  .  .  The demand for skilled tradespeople — from plumbers to electricians to diesel mechanics to auto mechanics and welders — is on the rise. An older generation of skilled workers is retiring and, locally, construction is booming. Contractors, manufacturers and repair shops are recruiting but can’t fill all the vacancies requiring certain skills.
 
Mechanical aptitude, the ability to work with one’s hands, is winning new respect and bigger paychecks.  .  .  .
 
The skilled trades ‘have been looked upon as a second-class career. In fact, it’s a great living. You can say, ‘I built that bridge, that car, that building,’  said Ahrends (Kirk Ahrends, dean of applied technology at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha), who constructed cement bridges in his youth.
 
‘I still drive over those bridges to make sure they’re still up.’ ”

 

We can also find a growing emphasis on training within our Process and Manufacturing industries. 

Maintenance and Operations training for our workforce has never been more necessary. 

And, the opportunities for more effective learning have never been greater. 

Due to advances in technology-based learning, Mechanical Maintenance, Electrical Maintenance, and Instrumentation training are all better attuned to job and task applicability today.

We’re going to need these better skills, too, as processes get more complicated and multi-craft training continues to evolve.  Well-designed multiple-media e-Learning (video, graphic animations, gaming and optional full audio) will help secure incomes in these transitional economic times while improving conditions for workers and their families. 

And, In that process, American industry will continue to sharpen its competitive edge.

More on Monday  –  –  –

           — Bill Walton, co-Founder, ITC Learning

  June 13, 2018

      www.itclearning.com/blog/  (Mondays & Wednesdays)

“THE WORLD RELIES ON THE HANDS OF ITS MEN AND WOMEN”

 (This is a personal blog.  Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the blog owner, jhbillwalton@gmail.com, an independent consultant.  They do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that the owner may or may not be associated with in a professional or personal capacity.)