Manufacturers, non-profit push students to opportunities in trade industries
Dan Yousett is trying to engineer a way to get more Niagara County high schoolers into the trades. As a manager at Voss Manufacturing in Sanborn, and advisor to committees for skilled trade and workforce organizations, Yousett has been spreading the word that many career opportunities in manufacturing don't require a college education and these jobs are often not presented to students. This includes presenting skilled trades as career options for girls.
Yousett has teamed up with the non-profit Dream It Do It to spread the word about the need for workers in machining, tool and die making, mechanical assembly, electrical assembly, welding, and building trades. Their educational efforts include a Girls In Manufacturing half-day workshop on March 22 on the SUNY Niagara campus, that will teach participants the stages of the manufacturing process, and let them use welding tools to create a take-home project. Students can also meet women who are leaders in manufacturing.
'Women excel at welding because they have the artistic touch,' Yousett said. 'Welding is like using a paintbrush and the paint is metal.'
Voss Manufacturing employs three women in welding who have made presentations to local students. 'One of them is quick to say, 'I'm a welder because someone said a girl couldn't do it,' ' Yousett said.
Decades of schools focusing on college readiness, a stigma that manufacturing is 'dark and dirty,' combined with large numbers of skilled tradespeople retiring, has created a void in the manufacturing workforce, Yousett said. The shortage is nationwide. For every five workers leaving manufacturing, there's only one worker entering the industry.
Students can not only avoid college loan debt, Yousett said, but they can quickly progress to earning $75,000 to 85,000 a year.
'The highest need right now is for CNC machining. It's subtractive manufacturing, where you start with a block of steel and cut away from it with a cutting tool. That trade is good for young people because they grew up with Playstation 2,' Yousett said. 'That's the same mechanism that drives these machines. Lots of students are naturals at programming these machines.'
Learning CNC machining and other skilled trades can position the next round of high school graduates for a hiring boom, according to Yousett.
'There's going to be a dramatic uptick and demand for that with all the semi-conductor industry coming to New York state,' Yousett said Voss Manufacturing is already gearing up with a recent purchase of a property for expansion space.
The solution is for more students to enroll in BOCES. 'If kids are thinking they don't want to spend their time in college, they should pursue BOCES and other trade school opportunities.
Dream It Do It, a non-profit funded in part by the Niagara Economic Development Center, launched last month in Niagara County after years of success in Chautauqua, Alleghany, and Cattaraugus counties. The organization collaborates with BOCES programs and enrolls students in free skills camps, employer tours, and technology build-and-battle programs.
'There was a growing need in bridging the connection between schools and manufacturing,' said Allison Sharpe, Dream It Do It's director for Niagara County. The organization offers enrolled students access to a tool called Tallo, which is similar to LinkedIn, allowing them to upload resumes that are seen by hiring manufacturers.
Dream It Do It is also planning an event for teachers and counselors in May. 'They get to talk to different manufacturers in the area to understand manufacturing and embed it in curriculum,' Sharpe said.
For more information on Girls In Manufacturing, go to https://didiwny.com/ .
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