Celebrate National Welding Month

• Date: April 24, 2019
• Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

April is National Welding Month, so we thought we’d take a look at the status of the welding workforce in America.

But first, we’d like to say Happy Birthday to our friends at the American Welding Society (AWS).

This year marks their 100^th year advancing the science and art of welding. Congratulations on a decade of making a difference. Read More.

Workforce Demographics: a Common Theme at HOUSTEX 2019

• Date: April 16, 2019
• Posted by:Greg Surtman, workforce education strategist, and Sue Mueller, workforce development specialist, Tooling U-SME

Changing workforce demographics was a hot topic and a common theme during two educational presentations we participated in at the recent HOUSTEX manufacturing event. One was a seminar called “The Onboarding Challenge” and the other was a panel discussion on “Competing for Top Talent During a Labor Shortage.” Read More.

Workforce Insights at SAMA Conference and AME Summit

• Date: April 11, 2019
• Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

The face of manufacturing is changing. Advanced manufacturing technology is transforming outdated plant floors to high-tech centers of innovation. At the same time, baby boomers are exiting the workforce and passing the baton to Gen Xers, millennials and the newest addition to the labor force, Gen Z. Read More.

Technology, People and Pizza

• Date: April 03, 2019
• Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

Calling all pizza fans. Have you heard about Domino’s Pizza’s Points for Pies promo? Here’s how it works: Through Domino’s app, using artificial intelligence (AI), you take a photo of any pizza you are eating whether it’s from Domino’s or a competitor (a dog’s squeaky pizza toy even works). You earn points for each pizza scanned and, ultimately, that leads to free pizza. Read More.

Partnerships Offer Solutions to Skills Gap Challenges

• Date: March 25, 2019
• Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

Many manufacturers recognize they are challenged with a skills gap but don’t know where to start. One innovative way to address the need for training is to create a collaboration between industry and education, such as between a local manufacturer and a community college.

F&P America is a long-standing automotive supplier of specialty functional suspension products in Troy, Ohio. F&P has been challenged with finding workers who have the technical skills they need. Read More.

Strong Manufacturing Communities Help Close the Skills Gap

• Date: March 13, 2019
• Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

By now, we’ve all heard the daunting news: Nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will likely need to be filled over the next decade. And because of the impending skills gap caused in large part by baby-boomer retirements and changing technology, 2 million of those jobs are likely to remain unfilled. What’s more, this shortage cannot quickly be remedied, as it takes an average of 70 days to recruit skilled production workers. Read More.

Getting Started With Lean

• Date: February 26, 2019
• Posted by:Chad Vincent, Director of Lean Manufacturing, American Railcar Industries

Chad Vincent is a Continuous Improvement Leader with 20 years of experience, having a successful record of orchestrating cultural change and improving organizational performance utilizing Lean, Six Sigma, and other continuous improvement methodologies. He is the former chair of the Lean Certification Oversight and Appeals Committee. In this blog post, he discusses how organizations can begin their lean journey. Read More.

A Unique Solution to Tackle the Shortage of CNC Machinists

• Date: February 19, 2019
• Posted by:Ivan Rosenberg, Founder, Uniquely Abled Project, Valley Village, California and Mike Bastine, Director, Uniquely Abled Academy, College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, California

Today we are so pleased to welcome Ivan Rosenberg and Mike Bastine to discuss the first-of-its-kind collaboration between machine technology educators and specialists in education to provide specialized training and job placement in the manufacturing industry. Read More.

Talent Accelerates a Digital Transformation

• Date: February 12, 2019
• Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

According to SME’s Manufacturing in the New Industry 4.0 Era Survey, manufacturers say that two top barriers preventing smart technology are people related:

• Lack of corporate leadership to lead and plan a smart manufacturing strategy

Uncovering the True Cost of Turnover

• Date: February 05, 2019
• Posted by:Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME

Relentless turnover in the manufacturing industry is threatening companies focused on driving productivity and profitability. Voluntary turnover takes its toll on company culture, and also costs organizations hundreds of thousands and up to millions of dollars.

It is concerning that two out of five manufacturers (43%) indicate an average 20% or higher annual turnover, according to Tooling U-SME’s Industry Pulse: 2018 Manufacturing Workforce Report. Read More.