Written by
Linda Cheek, President
“The ability
to make things is fundamental to the ability to innovate things over the long
term,” says Willy Shih, a Harvard Business School professor and co-author of
Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance. “When you
give up making products, you lose a lot of the added value.” In other words,
what you make makes you.
As president
of the Chamber I’ve had the opportunity over the last few months to tour several
Wilkes County Manufacturers. These
opportunities came about as I’ve been involved in the facilitation of
Leadership Wilkes 2014, NC Works’ 1000 in 100 Initiative, and Manufacturer’s
Day at Worldwide Protective Products. During
each visit we heard about the changing workforce and the difficulties in hiring
skilled labor. The visits also included a
tour of the manufacturing facility enabling us to see the production lines in
operation at which time I quickly noticed the lack of employees working around the
equipment and machinery. The machinery
was being operated by technology that was observed by a limited number of employees. In a recent
article featured in TIME magazine writer Rana Foroohar states, “Today’s U.S.
factories aren’t the noisy places where your grandfather knocked in four bolts
a minute for eight hours a day.
Dungarees and lunch pails are out; computer skills and specialized
training are in, since the new made-in-America economics is centered largely on
cutting-edge technologies.”
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| Worldwide Protective Products uses automated production lines and operations. |
This
statement holds true in Wilkes County’s manufacturing. In years past when I’ve toured textile mills there
would be rows of employed sewers sitting at machines sewing fabric pieces as rapidly
as possible as they worked diligently to reach their production goal. Today, the sewing is completed by massive automated
sewing machines with large spools of thread attached. There’s one employee located at the end of each
line that’s responsible for the machines operation checking the automation and
observing the spools of thread making sure they feed the machines or need
replacing. At times in other automated manufacturing
processes, we saw employees stationed at computers watching the machines
manufacture the products.
We read that
throughout the United States there are industries developing new manufacturing
techniques way ahead of global competitors and are using these to produce goods
more efficiently on super automated factory floors. These factories have more machines and fewer
workers — and those workers must be able to master the machines. We learned that many new manufacturing jobs
require at least a two-year tech degree to complement artisan skills such as
welding or milling. As new technology is
engaged, the bar will only get higher.
We read that some experts believe it won’t be too long before employers
will expect a four-year degree — a job qualification that will eventually be
required in many other places around the world too.
To prepare
our youth for these super automated manufacturers, Wilkes County Schools and
Wilkes Community College have implemented numerous technical programs that
offer the education and training to meet the skills needs. Programs such as STEM in Wilkes County Middle
Schools, a project based curriculum designed to challenge and engage the
natural curiosity of students. The program is a three tiered framework which
encompasses integration of STEM concepts, use of individual and collaborative
classroom technology, and project-based learning that promotes critical
thinking skills.
Wilkes
Community College has the Industrial and Workforce Development Division which
includes departments of Architectural & Building Construction Technology,
Engineering Technology, Transportation Technology, Advanced Manufacturing &
Materials, and Horticulture & Bio-Agriculture Technology. A few of the many areas of study provided by
the division include architectural technology, automotive systems technology,
collision repair & refinishing technology, building construction
technology, computer engineering, electronics engineering, heavy equipment and
transportation technology, horticulture technology, industrial systems
technology, and welding technology.
Wilkes
County has also committed to become a NC Works Certified Work Ready
Community. A Certified Work Ready
Community provides counties with a framework to validate that they have a
skilled workforce ready to fill current and future jobs. Partners in the CWRC initiative include the
NC Community Colleges System, the NC Dept. of Public Instruction, the NC Dept.
of Commerce, the North Carolina Chamber, and numerous economic/workforce
development entities throughout the state.
To obtain the certification counties must achieve established goals of
individuals earning a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) along with
business recognition and recommendation of qualified NCRC applicants in their
hiring process. To learn more about the
CWRC for your business or industry, contact Dan Little with Wilkes Economic
Development Corporation 336-838-1501.
