May 2008 Edition

larger margin

 

Plug the brain drain

Companies’ new offense fights decline in skilled worker levels

 

 

 

The headline said, "Skilled Worker Shortage Dims Growth Picture." It wasn’t from a current newspaper. It was from The Los Angeles Times, and it was dated March 19, 1978. It was about a supplier planning to move out of state because he couldn’t find skilled workers.

A headline like that easily could have been written in any publication today. The skilled worker employment situation hasn’t changed much over three decades; the headlines are still reporting a shortage of skilled workers — machinists, oil workers, defense workers, welders, plant electricians, skilled draftsmen, and others.

Ever since the industrial revolution started, there have been shortages of skilled workers at one time or another. When a new manufacturing process was invented, it likewise created a demand for skilled workers. In the example above, the computer field needed workers.

In the 1860s, the Civil War created a demand for arms, which in turn produced the idea of mass production by new machinery. Along with mass production came the idea of interchangeable parts, and a new realization — that machines were capable of amazing accomplishments.

Steam engines had been introduced into factories and filled the need adequately for power. However, they posed their own problems. They were less than 20 percent efficient.

Manufacturers soon found out that this scenario needed simplification. While the direct current motor had been invented earlier, the alternating current motor (invented by Nikola Tesla in 1888) displaced the DC motor. The AC electric motor had a rotating magnetic field that made electric drives for machines feasible and made power transmission necessary. The AC motor became king of the hill. Companies such as Cincinnati and Browne and Sharpe designed and manufactured quality, specialized machinery: the turret lathe, the automatic screw machine, mills and grinders, and sheet metal punches. Nearly all modern machines can trace their roots to these machines of the early 1900s.

Along came the first "engineers" with college degrees. These were theorists, fortified with mathematics knowledge, but who had little practical experience. Thus was born a situation that still exists — the conflict between the college-educated engineer and the machine-savvy shop foreman.

The Associated Press recently reported that Northrop Grumman Corp. would have about half of its 122,000 workers eligible to retire in the next five to 10 years. Likewise, at Lockheed Martin Corp., half of its 140,000 workers could retire in the next decade. Boeing has 15 percent of its engineers 55 or older eligible to retire now.

Those numbers might not be so worrisome if there were qualified young workers to take their place. The Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA last year conducted a survey of more than 270,000 college first-year students and found that only 7.5 percent intended to major in engineering. This represents the lowest level since the 1970s.

The well-established automotive, oil, and aerospace industries may seem boring to college students lured by the splash of Internet search engine Google or a biotechnology leader such as Genetech.

Lockheed Martin Corp. is partnering with Project Lead the Way to help cultivate in grades K-12 the next generation of engineers. Rolls-Royce PLC helps fund British high school courses such as engine propulsion.

Lockheed Martin’s efforts in particular have received broad exposure in the press. The program offers eight full-year high school engineering courses and five middle school modules, all of which employ rigorous problem-based learning experience and integrate mathematics and science.

Engineers go into classrooms as guest lecturers and coaches. They develop a relationship with the students, becoming their role models and mentors. Students who have completed the program are five times more likely to major in engineering than the national average.

The solution of the future engineering and technical workforce shortage lies in a system-wide approach through a vibrant partnership with corporations. The solution may also be in companies that provide flexible schedules, tuition reimbursement programs, and chances for advancement. It will take education and support, and we can do it. We owe it to ourselves and our children.

What do you think?
Will the information in this article increase efficiency or save time, money, or effort? Let us know by e-mail from our website at www.ToolingandProduction.com or e-mail the editor at dseeds@nelsonpub.com.