Hartford Business Journal

12 Hartford Business Journal • December 9, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com manufacturing jobs, is modeled after the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board's (EWIB) four-year- old Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative, which is considered an industry gold standard. EWIB received $3.5 million in Apprenticeship Connecticut funds during the initiative's first year. That program is anchored by the hiring needs of Groton submarine maker Electric Boat, which must add hundreds of workers to meet its obligations under massive fed- eral submarine contracts. Electric Boat has worked in coor- dination with EWIB and a network of 70 area manufacturers, colleges and high schools, to develop employer- driven curriculum and standards that provide high odds of trainees landing jobs afterward, said John Beauregard, the board's president. As of 2019's third quarter, more than 1,500 trainees from the program have been placed in manufacturing jobs at about 260 workplaces, Beauregard said. About 80 percent of those placed had no prior manufacturing experience before the pipeline program. "We set out to essentially build that workforce by using the design principles that the employers gave to us," Beauregard said. "We designed what we would call a demand-driven approach." It's been a hit with employers, too. Wallingford precision-manu- facturer Hobson & Motzer, which has been upping its efforts to find qualified workers, has hired about eight people from the program. "They bring talent that is better than what we would get off the street," said Asi Carmeli, Hobson & Motzer's director of human resources. Hobson & Motzer, which makes precision metal components for sev- eral industries, including medical and aerospace, employs about 350 people and currently has five open positions. In addition to hiring out of the pipeline program, the company has partnered with workforce boards, schools and other organizations on manufacturing workforce-devel- opment efforts, and even hosted an open house for students at 10 tech- nical high schools and community colleges to promote manufacturing as a career path, Carmeli said. "There's a shortage of talent, and people out there either unemployed or underemployed are not looking at manufacturing as a viable op- tion," Carmeli said. More funding needed? Eric Brown, vice president of manufactur- ing at the Con- necticut Busi- ness & Industry Association, the state's largest business lobby, said workforce- development programs and apprenticeships are certainly part of the solution to the manufacturing industry's woes, but they're not a cure-all. That's because manufacturing jobs run the gamut from welding, a skill that can be learned in a relatively short time, to advanced manufactur- ing, which gen- erally requires advanced train- ing and degrees. In the long run, Brown said, the focus has to be on introduc- ing manufac- turing in high schools and even middle schools so students can get interested and begin train- ing before gradu- ating. Additional- ly, Brown said advances in technology could reduce the number of workers manufacturers need, which could make many of the skills taught in pre-apprentice- ship programs obsolete. "Companies are saying we need more peo- ple, but they're looking into how they can become more efficient," Brown said. "Maybe if they invest in technology they don't need five new people, they need three new people." Westby, the state labor com- missioner, said workforce boards partnering with companies that agree to hire out of pre-apprentice- ship or apprenticeship programs, fills an important need. The basic manufacturing training courses are often enough for people to learn entry-level skills, and expand- ing manufacturing programs in high schools and community and state colleges can foster a more ad- vanced set of prospective employ- ees, but apprenticeships bridge the gap between entry-level workers and trained mid-level employees. "There's a medium-term need," Westby said. "This is about building, expanding the workforce of skilled workers filling these job needs." Wray, of CRCOG, said the multi- pronged workforce-development approach is a good one, but he sug- gested Connecticut invest as much as $60 million annually to truly attack the need. "[Right now] you have a relatively small amount of money chasing tens of thousands of vacancies," Wray said. Osten, the state lawmaker, agrees the initiative could use more funding, but that there are other workforce-development programs available to help. And more money could become available based on Apprenticeship Connecticut's success. "We could probably put in anoth- er $100 million, but we would need the people willing to apply [for the programs]," Osten said. "Once we spend that $50 million, I think we should have the next dollar amount [ready]." >> Building Ranks continued Active apprenticeships in CT Active Active Fiscal year apprenticeships in CT apprenticeships in US 2018 5,528 585,026 2017 5,665 533,607 2016 5,856 505,371 2015 5,611 447,929 2014 5,175 410,375 Source: U.S. Department of Labor Kurt Westby, Commissioner, State Department of Labor Eric Brown, Vice President of Manufacturing, Connecticut Business & Industry Association Another Spartan Aerospace worker training a young apprentice. PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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