From the Chair: Dave Phillips
(FAME Chair; Training Manager, GW Lisk)
Greetings!
FAME is over 10 years old and so much has changed, still there is much to do. When I entered the workforce in 1978, it wasn’t a question of
if
I would find a job as a machinist, it was
where
I would go to be a machinist. It was a good time to enter the trade, Tech centers were full, apprenticeships were in full swing, and there were plenty of older machinists willing to mentor the new wave of budding machinists.
If you take a look at the historical time line it becomes more clear. Even though manufacturing jobs were in decline there was also another dynamic occurring. All those people who had re-joined the workforce after World War 2 were retiring and creating open positions. Many who started in machining then were fortunate to benefit from the guidance and mentoring from those “old school journeymen”. Even though manufacturing was entering the computer age, the skills learned from our predecessors were key to our growth.
History is repeating itself and we need to be ready. Tech centers are seeing increases in enrollment and apprenticeships are reemerging, and we are starting to see a wave of retirements as that next generation of manufacturing journey men and women come of age. As we go forward, we all have a part to play in keeping a strong pipeline in advanced manufacturing up and running.
October is National Manufacturing Month, and the 4
th
is Manufacturing Day. Many companies will be hosting plant tours or working with their local schools to help educate people about advanced manufacturing opportunities. If you are unable to host a plant tour, you may want to have a booth at
Finger Lakes Works with Their Hands
. This event has grown to over 650 attending students from the Finger Lakes school districts and 45+ exhibitors. It’s a great opportunity to show off the face of modern manufacturing and get people excited about manufacturing careers.
Thank you for your support of FAME,
Dave Phillips, Chair
