FACT #1 – You need people that know what they are doing.
The thing I get the most requests for is qualified employees. Get in line. They are rare as platinum. You are more than welcome to post an ad for free on our classifieds section as someone may be looking for what your company has to offer or to make a change – https://leveledproduction.com:8080/adverts/add/ .
FACT #2 – If you can’t find them, you have to make them.
This is true whether you live in a large city or way out in the country. If you live in a large city, there is more competition. At one time I worked for a large corporation in the middle of nowhere. They had their own training program but was very successful in employee retention as this provided opportunity to inexperienced personnel to gain skills and better compensation. Small to mid-size manufacturers could benefit by hiring for attitude and work ethic first and then tailor train the necessary skills.
There are many online resources (often free) that could give a new hire or an existing employee a better foundation. This list is not exhaustive but most are quite good.
- Machining – Titans of CNC Academy – There are few that can match Titan for his hunger to boost American manufacturing. His program shows. https://academy.titansofcnc.com/
- Machining – Haas Automation – A huge free resource of videos and tips that everyone can benefit from. Just cause you have other machines does not mean that many don’t apply. https://www.youtube.com/user/haasautomation/featured
- All manufacturing types – ToolingU – never used it but much to offer. There is a cost beyond the trial period. https://www.toolingu.com/
- CAD/CAM Programming – Lars Christensen on Youtube. I’ve used his videos and they are top notch in presentation and great for beginners. It is on Fusion 360 as it is a great program for low entry cost. https://www.youtube.com/user/cadcamstuff
- Tooling and machining – Sandvik. Of course they want you to buy their products but that didn’t stop them from providing a nice free resource about general machining. https://www.sandvik.coromant.com/en-gb/knowledge/pages/default.aspx
Do you know of any great resources? Let us hear your thoughts below! ***Just FYI – I am affiliated with none of these companies and none pay me a dime (unfortunately).