Northern Kentucky manufacturers want to make sure they have a pipeline of workers so customers can get their products on time. They spoke about the struggle Tuesday at the Chamber’s Eggs ‘N Issues event.
Flottweg President Dan Ellis says a lot of high schoolers don’t understand what a fulfilling career manufacturing can be. "What we have to do as manufacturers is just change from old, boring and dirty to creative, innovative and green."
Ellis suggested his company fund a manufacturing club for students to get them interested.
Kathy Quarles is an HR executive with 80 Acres Farms, which just opened a plant in Boone County. "Automation and robotics and data science — this didn't used to be part of manufacturing in the past," she says. "But it is now and we're going to keep it that way." 80 Acres uses robots who work alongside employees.
Quarles says her company, based in Hamilton, goes to great lengths to find and keep workers, partnering with second-chance organizations, groups for people with disabilities and hiring people who don't speak English.
President of gearbox manufacturer Bonfiglioli Greg Schulte says young people need to be encouraged to go into the trades because it's rewarding.
"We've got projects for our line workers. We've got different activities. We engage them to be a part of that team. They’re doing things that are fun and fantastic, but we’ve got to get people engaged," he says.
Gateway Community and Technical College is trying to do its part to solve an area worker shortage.
The college unveiled a new space this fall devoted to advanced manufacturing in Covington. President Fernando Figueroa explains advanced manufacturing is the final piece for its Covington location, which already has information technology, transportation and logistics, business and allied health and nursing.
"The big news was getting the heavy trades — the advanced manufacturing, the computerized manufacturing, industrial maintenance, welding and HVAC — in a retrofit of our first-floor location in the technology innovation and enterprise building at Madison and Fifth," says Figueroa.
He says this location will be closer for some students rather than going to the south side of Florence for advanced manufacturing.
Figueroa says high schoolers scored high on recent aptitude tests for skills like advanced manufacturing, but their interest isn't there yet. WVXU reported on YouScience in early October. It was mentioned at a Northern Kentucky Chamber event about the difficulty of filling jobs.
“And so, the work is really being discussed now about how do we amp up the conversation of these kinds of jobs that are available in our region so that these aptitudes that our students are getting through our K-12 experiences can actually be working and thinking along the lines of advanced manufacturing, transportation logistics or allied health and nursing?” All areas where Northern Kentucky businesses have a need, he says.