EDITORIAL
6 in 10 Teachers Choose Welding A
recent poll asked 220 vocational and technical high school teachers the follow- ing question:
“Tinking about vocational courses, please tell us how
likely you feel a student focusing on each of the following career paths would be able to find a job or a career in that field after graduation.” Tese teach-
ers were given five different industries from which to
choose: • Metalcasting • Woodworking • Machining • Tool, die and patternmaking
the results in Table 1.
“59.5% of the teachers surveyed
believe it is very likely a student focusing on
• Welding Take a look at
Based on some simple math, 59.5% of the teachers surveyed believe it is “very likely” a student focusing on welding in high school will find a job or career after graduation while only 19.1% believe the same of metalcasting. Te results of this poll were a bit of a wake-up
welding in high school will find a job or career after graduation while only 19.1% believe the same of metalcasting.”
facturers jealous) and teachers beaming about the opportunities for jobs as machinists. Tese must be more isolated cases than I experienced. On a positive note, this poll isn’t talk- ing about the students themselves or their parents. However, this poll is talking about one of the big- gest influences on students— their teacher. Couple the feelings of these teachers with those of the school guid- ance counselors (who, if we poll, would probably express similar opinions as the teachers), and our industry has an uphill battle in securing the next generation of metalcasters. But it is a battle worth the effort.
While our industry is fighting fires on many different fronts—regulations, globalization, customer knowledge
call to me. Sure, I knew metalcasting isn’t on the top priority list of today’s manufacturing technol- ogy and/or votech teachers. But I saw this as a larger problem for all manufacturing disciplines in which we were all in the same boat. Tis data says we aren’t all in the same boat; some of our industries are sink- ing faster than others. Another surprising result is that machining didn’t
place highest among these industries. I have had the opportunity to see several high school and col- lege workshops decked out with some of the latest machining systems (enough to make many manu-
and experience, pricing pressures, and competing processes, just to name a few—engaging the next generation of workers is an endeavor that rewards you as much as it does the industry. Just remember, it isn’t just the students we need to focus on. We have to win the hearts and minds of their teachers and their guidance counselors as well.
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.
Table 1. 220 Vocational and Technical High School Teachers were asked how likely they felt a student focusing on each of these career paths would be able to find a job or career in that field after graduation.
Career Path Metalcasting Woodworking Machining
Tool, die and patternmaking Welding
Very Likely 42 48 96 73
131
Likely 89 84 84 84 55
Likelihood of Finding a Job After Graduation Somewhat Likely
66 64 32 42 22
Not Likely at All 18 17 5
14 8
June 2014 MODERN CASTING | 7
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