EDITORIAL
Will Labor Shortages Hold Us Back? I
t is critical everyone gain a fresh perspec- tive from time to time. Mine came during a recent conference when I heard from several
European economists discussing the global manufacturing economy. During their presenta-
tions, these economists spoke about the “re-indus- trialization of the U.S.,” “re-localization of sourcing back to the U.S.,” and “op- portunities for a prosperous manufacturing future in the next decade.” Four years ago during a similar set of presentations, the prevail- ing theme when discussing the U.S. was its downfall. Manufacturing business was fleeing every day, and the service economy only was going to grow as a percent- age of U.S. GDP. Dur- ing the presentations last month, I kept cleaning my ears when references to the U.S. occurred. Wow, what a change in four years. I have to temper my excitement because some
economists are forecasting a manufacturing slowdown at the end of this year and/or through the first part of next year (and the uncertainty of the November elections seems to keep everyone on pins and needles), but the turnaround in the global perception of the U.S. was positive to hear. A lot of what we read and hear domesti- cally these days is negative. Te economists in Europe saw positive signs in the auto market, infrastructure rebuilding, energy availability and our competitive position globally, to name a few. Tese positives would lead to positives for our metalcasting industry. Te one point of contention that was raised
(and one with which I agree) is the labor market and the ability to find and retain workers. While this is a manufacturing problem as much as a metalcasting problem, it has the power to derail any of the future positive signs the economists detailed. Regardless of the level of plant automa- tion you can achieve, qualified employees will be required throughout your facility. In our article on p. 31 of this issue, “Help
Wanted: Recruiting & Retaining Qualified Workers,” a few metalcasters share their
Regardless of the level of plant
automation you can achieve, qualified
employees will be required
throughout your facility.
strategies. While a magic formula to success isn’t revealed, some thought-provoking comments are.
“Our feeling is that if
we wait until students are seniors in high school, we are probably too late. Now we are reaching out to sophomores and juniors, to where they live—You- Tube and 140-charac- ter Twitter feeds—and putting together short videos that talk about our available educational opportunities and tuition reim- bursement, as well as good careers available to them.”—Ed Zellers, Waupaca Foundry
“Te combination of the two (attitude and skills) has been almost impossible to find. We have focused instead on hiring for attitude and training for skills, which has created a situation where we need to have good training pro- grams.”—Ken Kurek, Waukesha Foundry
Any future positive growth for our industry
will be predicated on our ability to ramp up our workforce to meet an increase in future demand. In the same way that we need to continually evolve our production practices to meet new customer demands, we must redevelop our work- force recruitment strategies to catch the interest of an evolving labor market. Te key is to plan and execute today so you can start to see the fruits of your labor tomorrow.
Alfred T. Spada, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
If you have any comments about this editorial or any other item that appears in MODERN CASTING, email me at
aspada@afsinc.org.
October 2012 MODERN CASTING | 7
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