It happened again today. Another article in my morning paper, this one by Danielle Paquette of the Washington Post. The title of the article was “Women needed as jobs go vacant – Blue collar industries need workers to replace boomers”.
The article explains, once again, that there is and will continue to be a shortage of qualified workers as boomers are “vacating construction sites and body shops and 18-wheelers”. And, I would add, fastener manufacturing plants. The article calls it a “baby boomer retirement tsunami” and goes on to state that by 2029 all boomers will be older than 65, meaning one-fifth of the U.S. population will have reached retirement age. The article continues to explain that Millennials do not seem interested in pursuing careers in the trades and adds that the “opioid epidemic has zapped some of the male workforce – men are more likely than women to both use and overdose on illicit drugs”. You’ve all heard this — can’t pass the drug test!! It’s a problem.
I’ve read several articles like this and attracting skilled workers continues to be a challenge. One group that is confronting this challenge is Rock Valley College. I’ve written about them before – they are the Rockford based college conducting Cold Forming Classes. In fact, there is one currently underway and their first class will be graduating on May 25, 2017.
Orientation for their next Cold Forming Class will be held on Thursday May 18, 2017 at the Samuelson Road Center (4151 Samuelson Road, Rockford, IL 61109) at 8:30am until 12:00noon. This orientation is for individuals interested in becoming cold heading operators and companies that have employees that are in need of additional training.
The Fastener Industry Coalition is happy to host representatives from Rock Valley College who will be speaking at the FIC’s Fastener Summit on June 7, 2017 immediately following the conclusion of Fastener Tech ’17.
For a list of all the Fastener Summit speakers, visit http://www.fastenercoalition.org/