“Due to robotics and automation, our technician jobs are becoming higher paid and higher skilled”- Ron Bracalente, CEO, Bracalente Manufacturing Group Manufacturing Day event at Bracalente Manufacturing Group. Real People. Real jobs. PMPA member Bracalente Manufacturing Group held their first MFG Day event last week. Students got to see first hand what a career in Precision machining could look like.
The event helped to change the conversation regarding the need for skilled people in advanced manufacturing companies like Bracalente Group.
Bracalente Group’s Trumbauersville, PA event hosted :
120 9th graders
20 students from the local Vo-tech school,
90 students from the new STEM program.
The STEM program is a college preparatory class structure for kids that are interested in Engineering and Tech.
Here is a video from The Intelligencer who reported on MFG Day. Bracalente Manufacturing Group hosts local students to MFG Day event
PMPA member companies across the U.S. and Canada joined Bracalente in helping to change the conversation regarding options for satisfying well paying technical careers. What are YOU doing to change the conversation?
Borrowing over $100,000 to get psychology degrees did not create sufficient ROI to cover $900/month loans payment for one student, whose work using her degrees is paying near minimum wage;
Nationwide, 14.7 percent of borrowers defaulted on their federal student loans in their first three years of repayment;
Nationwide, students at for-profit colleges have the most trouble repaying their loans, with almost 22 percent not making payments for at least 270 days in the last three-year snapshot;
According to a new study by the University of Kansas, adults with student debt tend to show lower college graduation rates, delays in marriage and buying cars and homes, and lower net worth than those without debt.
According to a spokesperson from the Institute of Student Access and Success: “The loan is supposed to enable them to get an education to get a job and pay back the loan, when you see high default rates, you know something in that string of logic has broken down.”
Indeed. Really? This is your plan? Critical thinking is recognizing and challenging assumptions.
The assumption is that having a college degree, any college degree, will guarantee the graduate a well paying job able to pay off the student loan indebtedness. For almost 15 percent of borrowers nationwide, this is NOT the case.
We strongly recommend college education if your plan assures that you will earn a sufficient return on your college investment to allow you to repay the cost of college. In the current economy, frankly, that is often NOT the case.
We urge you to look at college affordability and loan repayment terms up front- and make a decision- do you want to start your life in significant debt? There is an alternative.
While many college graduates are unable to find work that pays enough to allow them to pay back their student loans, getting a job in precision machining will enable you to earn while you learn, and avoid the huge student loan debt trap.
Many employers will provide tuition assistance.
The outlook for employment in our industry has remained above 90% (Very Positive) all year. CEO’s I speak with are always looking to find talented people.
Many of our industry’s top process engineers, managers, buyers and quality control personnel started in operations and built their education as they built their career.
So you now have a choice- borrow loads of money today and hope that you can pay it back tomorrow. Or earn while you learn and build a career as you build an educational pathway to success without huge loans.
We’re really a fan of education of all kinds. We’re just not a fan of big debt. Precision Machining Career Info PMPA Comprehensive Career Education Database Right Skills Now Student Debt Chart
The FED says “…economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. Labor market conditions have shown further improvement in recent months, on balance, but the unemployment rate remains elevated. “
This is what the FED calls Labor Market Improvement.
Parents and guidance counselors tell us that college is THE WAY to well paid career, and yet recent college graduates have almost double the unemployment rate of the general population.
These rates are nothing to brag about.
And student loans to repay.
This can’t possibly end well…
Nobody wants to work in a skilled trade any more
1000 High School students surveyed revealed their impressions of jobs in the skilled trades
54 percent of young people believe there is a better future working in computers than working in skilled trades.
37 percent of young people believe working in an office is more respected than working with your hands.
25 percent of young people believe skilled trades jobs are old-fashioned.
Here are 4 reasons to find a job and a career in Precision Machining
Executives at most PMPA member shops tell me their number 1 concern is finding skilled people to hire.
If they found a candidate with the right skills, they would hire today, even if they didn’t have a current opening.
Most Students at local community colleges’ machining programs have found jobs by the end of their first term, and by the time they graduate, all will have found a permanent placement according to students and instructors I have spoken with. This short video post shows the extent of jobs available and posted at Cleveland’s Tri- C Machining Class.
Ninety-two percent of the respondents to PMPA’s monthly business trends survey for May 2013 are expecting prospects for employment to remain the same or improve.
We understand that there are a lot of confusing messages out there.
We know that the news makes it easy to remain in the ranks of the hopelessly unemployed. After all , there are almost 3.1 unemployed workers for every job opening currently.
But we also know this, despite the graphs, and charts and opinions in the press, our industry is still looking for people with skills.
If you would like to get a job, start a career, and discover the joy of making safety critical parts that improve the safety and quality of life for everyone, you ought to consider a position in Precision Machining.
