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October 7, 2006
WASHINGTON — When A. Newth Morris advertises for jobs at his business, Dixie Printing and Packaging Corp., he's often disappointed with the people who show up for interviews.
Morris said some applicants don't have basic reading, writing or arithmetic skills — or the willingness to learn to operate the Glen Burnie, Md. company's new computer-driven printing presses. They struggle to perform basic tasks, like writing down what they produced at the end of a shift.
"I wish we had more people who had the skills and temperament," Morris said. "We ultimately get them. But it's taking us a lot more effort than it should."
Morris is not alone in his quest for qualified workers. While automakers are cutting thousands of positions, 80 percent of manufacturers across the country report trouble finding qualified people to fill factory jobs that increasingly require both basic academic knowledge and some high-tech skills.
To partially meet that need, the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council has created a nationwide program to train, test and certify workers in entry-level skills for openings among today's 10 million factory jobs. Its goal is to credential 4 million workers in the next 10 years.
The Regional Manufacturing Training Center at Fort Custer, operated by Kellogg Community College, is not one of the training centers receiving funding under the manufacturers' association program.
Karl Dehn, marketing director for Battle Creek Unlimited, the city's economic development team, said he was surprised to hear that "the state's best manufacturing training center, and one of the best in the country," wasn't chosen for the effort.
Dehn said the training center "is doing well and continues to be a real asset for not only existing manufacturers but also a real jewel as far as the attraction of new companies."
He said companies that relocate to Battle Creek often cite the RMTC as a critical element of their decision.
There are sites nearby that are part of the manufacturing association's initiative. Those include South Central Michigan Works! offices in Jackson and Hillsdale, Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor and Grand Rapids Community College.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm, meeting with editors and reporters at the Enquirer on Friday, spoke of "completely redoing what has come to be known as work-force training."
Granholm said her "MI Opportunity Partnership" plan, part of her economic plan to help the state pull out of its automotive job-loss tailspin, divided the state into 13 regions.
Employer interviews found 92,000 job openings, many of them positions requiring certification.
"We are teaming up in each of these areas with the community colleges and the Michigan Works! agencies — our work-force development arm — to provide short-term training and certification in a way that has not been done in the past," Granholm said.
"We call this 'No Worker Left Behind,'" she said.
So far, the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council, a Washington nonprofit group, has credentialed about 200 people, CEO Leo Reddy said. The National Association of Manufacturers and AFL-CIO back Reddy's effort.
NAM President John Engler said the MSSC program will produce the first nationally recognized entry-level credential for factory workers.
"It identifies a qualified pool of applicants who can then move up the next rung of the ladder," Engler said.
There already are nationally recognized certification programs for specialized manufacturing jobs, such as machinists.
Morris of Dixie Printing and Packaging called the new certificate program a "terrific" idea and said he would give certificate holders preference in hiring. He has 80 factory workers and at least four job openings.
"If we can get people who have the attitude and aptitude to learn, that's half the battle," he said.
The qualified worker shortage is the result of two trends.
In a survey this year, 70 percent of employers in various industries said high school graduates are deficient in professionalism, work ethic, punctuality, time management and other skills. More than 40 percent said graduates lack basic skills in reading comprehension, writing and mathematics.
In addition, layoffs in the auto industry and other sectors have pushed talented young workers away from factory jobs, Engler said.
The growing legions of unemployed auto workers might seem to be one answer to filling manufacturers' needs, said labor economist Linda Barrington, research director for The Conference Board, a business research group.
But even though the workers have many basic skills, they would need to learn new specialized skills and relocate to take jobs making, for example, medical equipment or airplane parts. And that would take time.
Other candidates for modern factory jobs are people just entering the workforce and manufacturing workers hit by "ripple" layoffs, such as those let go from small machine shops that make auto parts. Both could use the MSSC's new entry-level training, because they may have the workplace skills a large factory demands, said Nancy Mills, executive director of AFL-CIO Working for America Institute, a union-sponsored nonprofit group.
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