Although the economy is wobbling and nearly 14 million people are looking for work, some employers are still having a hard time finding skilled workers for certain positions. Manufacturers in particular complain that few applicants can operate computerized equipment, read blueprints and solve production problems. And with the baby boomers starting to retire, these and other employers worry there will be few young workers willing or able to replace them.
Gadget Camp, sponsored in part by a foundation affiliated with the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, which provided financing to nine other camps this summer, is intended to help over the long haul by exposing girls to an occupation they might previously have considered unappealing, if they considered it at all.
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I suspect the problem isn’t so much the manufacturing jobs as it is the manufacturing salaries. On the one hand, it’s hard to compete with certain countries financially, and if your aim is to to keep manufacturing in the US (or here in Western Europe) salary is the obvious low-hanging fruit … but if you can’t offer competitive salaries that are in tune with other fields, obviously you’re going to have a hard time attracting the kinds of people with the curiousity and technical competence to offer something to the manufacturers. Tough balance to strike.
That headline doesn’t sound creepy at all…
I suspect the problem isn’t so much the manufacturing jobs as it is the manufacturing salaries. On the one hand, it’s hard to compete with certain countries financially, and if your aim is to to keep manufacturing in the US (or here in Western Europe) salary is the obvious low-hanging fruit … but if you can’t offer competitive salaries that are in tune with other fields, obviously you’re going to have a hard time attracting the kinds of people with the curiousity and technical competence to offer something to the manufacturers. Tough balance to strike.