Quote:
Originally Posted by Minte
We have partnered with the local high schools to entice young people into the trades. A couple of weeks ago we had 60 kids from an industrial arts class tour the plant. We had 2 fellows apply for work release jobs from that and they are both digging in already in the weld shop. It's the one very rewarding thing from my job. Over the years we have been able to train a lot of people in different manufacturing careers.
We also work with the local vocational school and have interns(paid) on a regular rotation.
Last fall we graduated another Journeyman Tool & Die maker. That's a 5 year program. And when it's finished the earning power is on par with most fields having a masters degree.
If more people realized at how much these jobs pay, I think welding schools would be filled. Starting wage for a fresh out of school welder is well into the teens. After some years of experience and if they are good welders they can write their own ticket. There is a huge demand for welders.
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One of the jobs Mike was talking about is diesel mechanic for big equipment. He said the CEO of CAT told him that they have many openings that they can't find anyone to fill and these jobs start at about $50K and within 5 years you are making around $100K.
Like you said, if people knew these kinds of jobs were out there at these good wages they would be lining up at trade schools. When I was in high school in the 80's there were some programs similar to what you have done. In many cases the business owner or rep came to the school and they talked to us about different trades and jobs at their company and what they pay. It got people thinking about different options.
I think sometime in the last 10-15 years there has been this strange shift where suddenly being a welder or a machinist or electrician or plumber is suddenly a bad thing. The idea that you might get dirty at work has turned people off. If those people knew they could go to 1-2 years of schooling and make a good living in many of these trades VS running up a ton of debt for a BA degree that will qualify them for a job selling shorts at The Gap they might change their minds.