2015
Advanced Manufacturing
Marketplace Business
Intelligence Research and Sector
Strategy Approach Services:
Report on Advanced
Manufacturing Talent
Development Problem Solving
Session
MAF Center for Advanced Manufacturing Excellence, Inc.
2/26/2015
SUMMARY
Advanced Manufacturing Talent Development Solutions:
Problem Solving Session
June 3, 2015
The MAF Center for Advanced Manufacturing Excellence Leadership Council and other interested
manufacturers and parties convened on June 3, 2015 in Orlando, FL to hear an overview of the
Advanced Manufacturing Marketplace Business Intelligence Project, status of activities, and the
goals of the project from Al Stimac, Leadership Council Chairman and Duane DeFreese,
CareerSource Florida Board Member. Gert Garman, Collaborative Design Center, Valencia
College was the facilitator. Participants began by acquainting themselves with each other at their
tables and then were asked to answer eleven questions as a group. After that exercise was
completed, the group considered the topics that had come up and picked the “hot” topics for
more discussion. Herein are the results of the information gathered.
Manufacturing companies represented:
 Decimal Engineering, Inc.
 Exactech, Inc.
 Ferrera Tooling
 Fort Walton Machining
 GHSP
 Hoerbiger Corporation of America
 Knights Armament
 Metal Essence
 Energizer Personal Care
 Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems
 Monin, Inc.
 Pinova Holdings
 QTM, Inc.
 The Smart Companies
 Thomas Hayden, DBE
 Trademark Metal Recycling
 Vistakon – Johnson & Johnson
Regional manufacturing associations represented:
 Advanced Manufacturing Council of Gainesville
 Bay Area Manufacturers Association
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Capital Regional Manufacturers Association
First Coast Manufacturers Association
Manufacturers Association of Central Florida
Manufacturing and Supply Chain Alliance
Mid-Florida Regional Manufacturers Association
Northwest Florida Manufacturers Council
South Florida Manufacturers Association
Southwest Regional Manufacturers Association
Upper Tampa Bay Manufacturers Association
VMA
Others:
 Crowe Horwath
 CareerSource Florida
 CareerSource Brevard
 AECOM
 MAF Center for Advanced Manufacturing Excellence
 Manufacturers Association of Florida
This problem solving session addressed the following first year goals:
 Hold two statewide face to face problem solving workshops for the Leadership Council to
address advanced manufacturing current and future skill and talent needs
 Engage manufacturers in sharing their perplexing problems so that Florida can develop
strategies, action items and impact policies to address them
 Engage resource partners in the discussion in order to develop more comprehensive
solutions that may feasibly be implemented
 Enhance communication among manufacturers, their representatives and resource
providers, to meet the needs of the advanced manufacturing community
 Provide CareerSource Florida with business intelligence to assist with their mission
It focused on broad based questions with which the industry is wrestling, bottlenecks in
education and training systems, finding qualified workers, and the hot topics chosen by the
problem solving group. The first round of questions for each table in the group was:
 How do you find talent now? At what level? (Entry, mid-skills, experienced)
 What works in sourcing talent? What does not work?
 Do you use the CareerSource Florida network to source talent or find training grant
assistance? Why or why not?
 Do you have unfilled positions now? Why?
 What knowledge transfer issues are transformational? Which are critical?
 What global competitiveness issues are transformational? Which are critical?
 Is Florida’s education system providing what you need (secondary/postsecondary/university)? Which entity does it best and why?
 How are you looking inside your company at your own employees to further develop
existing talent?
 How do manufacturers accelerate technology transfer?
 How do manufacturers capture tribal knowledge?
 Are industry recognized credentials important? If so, which ones?
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Following these table discussions, the group assembled a short list of topics for further discussion,
decided which were the hottest topics and went back to their discussion groups to elaborate on
the “hot” topics. The hot topics were:
 To grow your company you need to export or export more. What are your barriers and
how could you be helped with that?
 How might technology acceleration be moved to change the bottom line? How do you
capture tribal knowledge?
 What are the career ladders in your company? What would an ideal progression look like?
What assistance do you need?
 How might educational institutions be engaged at all levels to make a difference for your
company?
Below is a summary of the responses to the first set of questions. The raw data may be found in
the Appendix.
PROBLEM SOLVING SESSION QUESTIONS
and
GROUP ANSWERS
How do you find
talent now?
At what level
(entry? mid-skills?
experience?)
In short, manufacturers are leaving no stone unturned as they
search for employees at all levels. They use government sources,
the internet, educational institutions, employment agencies,
other employees for referrals, networks such as LinkedIn,
newspapers, associations, job fairs, and any resource known to
them to search for new employees. There is not one source for
any or every skill level; manufacturers are using all of their
sources for all of the skill sets needed.
For sourcing talent manufacturers use employment agencies
and CareerSource agencies for entry level talent; they use
internships to try potential employees out before they hire
them; and they promote from within to obtain that mid-level
or upper-level employee with experience. They were more
interested in talking about what does work rather than what
does not work. In that regard, what works for them is the
prescreening at CareerSource agencies, some of the
CareerSource candidates, students that have graduated from
college, networking groups and LinkedIn. What does not
work for them are out-of-state hiring, newspapers, magazines
What works in
sourcing talent?
What does not work?
Other ideas shared included: selling a career pathway, not a job; rewarding employees for referrals
after 90 days of employment of the new hire; clearly articulating the job description; and being
clear about expectations in the job interview to get the right fit for the company.
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The knowledge level of
CareerSource Florida
network assistance
available was low. The
responses were mixed as
to the use of
CareerSource Florida
network as a resource for
finding talent, some because they were unaware of assistance available and others because the felt
that CareerSource Florida network applicants were not generally qualified for manufacturing jobs.
More respondents were familiar with the grant assistance offered to manufacturers.
Do you use the CareerSource Florida network
to source talent
or find training grant assistance?
Why or why not?
Do you have unfilled
positions now?
Why?
Without exception, the respondents had unfilled positions ready
to fill. Reasons for unfilled positions varied but common themes
were: applicants lacking in good soft skills that can fit into the
company culture; lacking applicants with drug-free history;
lacking applicants with manufacturing skills; and lacking U.S.
citizens that can pass security tests.
The respondents talked about transformational and
critical skills as being one in the same. CNC machining
What knowledge transfer
was thought to be a starting place for a manufacturing
career. With this knowledge an employee would have a
issues are transformational?
good foundation of manufacturing skills. Problem
solving was another skill that is transformational for the
value it brings to the employer and the employee. An
Which are critical?
educational practice that could be transformational
would be to start teaching students about the
manufacturing industry in the 8th grade or earlier. Skills
that can make or break a manufacturing employee include the ability to work in a team
environment and focusing on quality. Tribal knowledge sharing through videos, manuals and
mentoring hold the key to seamless operation of a manufacturing facility as retirements increase.
Allaying exporting fears, through education on how to export, is critical to the growth of
manufacturing businesses.
What global competitiveness issues are transformational?
Which are critical?
Again, respondents did not differentiate between transformational and critical. The answers here
were more diverse; it was very specific to the company. The issues included: stealing employees
from each other; taxation; international trade regulations; marketing manufacturing to young
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students; community involvement; slow recovery from the economic downturn; price/quality
issues for products; rapidly changing technology and automation; and export assistance.
Is Florida’s
education system
providing what
you need
(secondary/
post-secondary/
university)?
Which entity does
it best and why?
The general consensus was that the education system is failing
manufacturers at all levels; although there are a few shining
examples. There is hope that this will change and in the future
educators will be more responsive to manufacturers’ needs.
Respondents did not place the blame entirely on educators; they
admitted that manufacturers must get involved in education in a
much bigger way, schools are not working together on a continuum
of learning, and the only way the system will work is if industry and
education are working together. Respondents believed the
following teachings were missing: life skills (4 C’s ), business ethics,
precision, and shop. One respondent shared that educators aren’t
providing what manufactures need, because they don’t know and
manufacturers don’t have the funds to teach them.
Respondents share a wide variety of ways they are developing
talent from within. They have leadership programs, on the job
training, employee assessed skill evaluation, online university
courses, education reimbursement, cross training, company
career ladders, employee assessment for promotional
opportunities, customized worker training, and peer to peer
training through mentorships and apprenticeships. At the same
time there are other manufacturers that have no consistent
approach, have no plan in place and admit that not all employees
have the ability or desire to move up.
How are you
looking inside your
company at your
own employees to
further develop
existing talent?
All the ways to accelerate technology transfer
included some form of training. Training methods
offered were on the job training, having employees
experience various departments of the company as a
training program, automation, and building
partnerships and coalitions among manufacturers.
Respondents shared that many manufacturers are not accelerating technology transfer and that is
a problem for the industry. They expressed a need to know more about smart manufacturing and
what is happening globally in the industry to drive thought processes for technology transfer.
How do manufacturers
accelerate technology
transfer?
How do
manufacturers
capture tribal
knowledge?
Manufacturers shared that they are not capturing tribal knowledge
and it is worrisome to them. Methods for capturing this
knowledge offered were establishing standard processes,
documenting all procedures, providing more instructions,
preparing product hazard analyses and job analyses, using a
consultant, benchmark testing, using more technology,
establishing peer to peer networks, mentoring and producing
digital files.
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Are industry recognized credentials important?
If so, which ones?
Industry certifications received mixed support. On the one hand respondents shared that
certifications support education, show that businesses care about proficiency, allow applicants
with certifications to get preferential hiring treatment, and they are good for an employee’s own
skills set, proficiency and self-esteem. On the other hand manufacturers say they will train a
person for the skills they need, Johnson & Johnson has in-house certifications, attitude-initiative–
work ethic is more important, and credentials are nice but not really necessary. Another twist to
this is that some manufacturers who invest in their employees by encouraging them to earn
certifications risk losing the employees to competitors after credentials are earned.
Miscellaneous
Issues
One miscellaneous issue that did not surface in the discussion on the
previous questions was that of incorporating a trailing spouse into the
community. This makes hiring out-of-state workers more difficult and
may explain the reluctance of potential employees to leave their
communities for future job opportunities and growth.
HOT TOPICS
To grow your
company you need
to export or
export more.
This question elicited many responses and much discussion. The
majority of the answers could be characterized to be in three
categories: Export assistance needed; frustration with governmentrelated barriers; and the need for more infrastructure to support
export activities.
Regarding export assistance, respondents are hungry for:
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one on one mentoring from companies already exporting;
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knowledge of what other countries need that Florida
What are your
companies might supply;
barriers and how
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trade success stories that can be shared with manufacturers;
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international business skill development to understand
could you be
barriers to entry, both regional and cultural;
helped with that?
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knowledge of specific country requirements, issues, brokers,
tariffs, customs, etc.;
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how to sell globally and how to find customers;
 financing options for exporting;
 introductions to key people in targeted countries;
 basic knowledge on how to get started;
 how to find shippers;
 tax law related to exporting.
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Regulation was the next category of responses, with government responsibilities, such as tariffs
and the lack of trade agreements, seen as barriers to exporting, along with red tape and lengthy
licensure processes.
Many of the responses revolved around infrastructure as it relates to movement of goods: port
dredging, lack of infrastructure in southwest Florida, lack of rail lines or other means to move
goods to major ports, the cost of moving goods south from northwest Florida and difficult
logistics with customs and ports.
There were also concerns with export financing, expense of an international sales force, lack of
loyalty to U.S. manufactured products, and loss of pride in U.S. for manufactured goods and
services.
The most common request heard in the manufacturing community is “Is there a directory of
manufacturers in Florida?” This was echoed clearly during the problem solving session as
manufacturers wish to do business with each other in Florida, others would like to find a
manufacturer to produce their product, and yet others would like to sell to manufacturers in
Florida
The most innovative ideas expressed for addressing the problems identified were more funding
for export assistance, meeting with trade experts to understand barriers and opportunities in each
country, collaboration among manufacturers shipping similar products to the same locations to
save costs, and a collaborative effort among Enterprise Florida, the U.S. Commercial Service, the
Small Business Development Centers, the Manufacturers Association of Florida and others on
how to export.
How might technology
acceleration be moved to
change the bottom line?
The respondents know that technology is the key to
current and future manufacturing competitiveness
and growth. Words that went hand in hand with this
discussion were: automation, advanced equipment
purchases, game changer, investment, virtual training,
and automated information.
How do you capture tribal
knowledge?
Relationships with universities for intellectual
protocols and funding for research were desired.
Government assistance in the way of incentives, tax
breaks, and making the research and development tax
breaks permanent were suggested.
It was apparent that manufacturers are weighing the
costs and benefits of accelerating technology, the potential return on investment, the impacts of
moving too slow, too fast or not at all, their competitors’ investments, while trying to keep
product moving out the door, find the right employees and compete. There was a sense of
knowing they have to embrace rapid technology acceleration, but how to juggle all the facets was
a bit daunting.
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The most innovative ideas expressed for addressing the problems identified all related to
relationships with the universities on research, except one. Regarding the universities,
manufacturers would like to see a team effort among the universities rather than competition, to
help manufacturers with research and technology. They would like to see intellectual property
relationships improved for manufacturers, would like one on one university relationships to
address specific expertise in manufacturing, and want universities to take a real world approach to
their research. The other suggestion was for Florida to adopt the federal bonus depreciation tax
law.
Capturing tribal knowledge is an issue that all manufacturers need to address, but most don’t
have the time or resources. Many suggestions were made on how to do this. They felt that they
should be proactive, capture the knowledge constantly, get teams together in the business and
make sure they are open to the change of capturing the knowledge, allow the users of the
knowledge to express their ideas, break down resistance from those holding the knowledge and
those needing the knowledge, require the documentation of everything always, and develop
collaborated cloud based knowledge pools. Methods for capture of the knowledge included
promotion of apprenticeships, videotaping near-retirement employees performing tasks as a
training tool, establishing a formal mentoring program like the one at Caterpillar and TVA,
mentoring employees, pursuing more ISO certifications, audits, job analysis, and developing
standard operating procedures and evaluation of processes.
The most innovative ideas agreed upon by the groups were establishing a mentoring process,
setting a timeline, making employees aware of the need, setting up apprenticeships, and filming
activities for training tools.
Manufacturers identified traditional career ladders that call for
an individual to be a tradesman, apprentice, journeyman and
master. They also provided information for specific jobs as
follows:
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Quality – technical engineering to management
Engineering – junior scientists to senior scientist
Welders –welder generalist to machinist to machine
operator to maintenance
Worker to supervisor to manager to general manager
Machining company
1. Entry level – Production, Detail, CNC Operator,
Packaging, Assembly
2. Next step – CNC Machinist or Quality
3. Next step – Program Management, Process Planning,
Estimator or Leadership management
4. Next step – CMM Programming or CNC Programming
(Note: in the last two steps above, at any point
employees can go into Management/Department
Leadership
What are the career
ladders in your
company?
What would an ideal
progression look
like?
What assistance do
you need?
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Medical manufacturer
1. Entry level – Machinist, Engineering Technician, CNC Operators
2. Next step – Machinist 1 operator, Machinist 2 or Process Development, Machinist 3 or
Engineering (that started out in Production)
3. Next step – Manufacturing engineers or Manufacturing Supervisors
4. Next step – Production managers or Quality Managers
5. Next step – Executive Level
Some respondents felt that more formal structure is needed for company career ladders, that
there is definitely separate training needed for each ladder, that individuals must take the
initiative to help themselves develop, and that paths are determined by whether or not the
individual has a college degree. There was acknowledgement that both the individual and the
company have to invest in order for an individual to climb the career ladder. Ideally, the
company provides a pathway, opportunities for training and education, and evaluates the
employee for greater responsibility and promotion. At the same time, employees must have the
drive to improve, take advantage of opportunities offered, and invest in themselves.
In the way of assistance needed, manufacturers are aware that educators do not have the
equipment they need for training students and that the teachers are not current on the latest
manufacturing technology. They are perplexed on how to find the teachers needed or to train the
teachers in order to keep them updated.
There is recognition that the gap between academia and manufacturers must be narrowed, that
the Florida Department of Education should be re-educated on manufacturing skills and
knowledge needed, that technical schools and colleges need manufacturing-educated teachers,
that it is difficult to get industry personnel to teach because salaries are so low at the schools and
colleges. It was felt that local community roundtable discussions between educators and business
leaders would lead to local solutions.
The most innovative idea from this discussion was to connect career ladders to competency and
performance reviews and allow employees to self-nominate for obtain more training and
education and advance in the company.
This question received the most
How might educational institutions be
feedback and illustrates
manufacturers’ frustration with
engaged at all levels to make a difference for
students’ preparedness for their
your company?
jobs. The feedback was fairly
evenly divided between comments
about teachers, comments about students and comments about manufacturers’ obligations.
Parents were also mentioned as a target audience for manufacturers. Manufacturers want to
reach students at younger and younger ages, some said middle school and others said elementary
schools. Hand in hand with that is forming a positive image of manufacturing in minds of young
students or changing the image in the minds of teachers, older students and parents. Dream It
Do It is the national program to reach students.
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Teachers need opportunities to engage with manufacturers through plant tours, externships,
training on current machinery and equipment, presentations on manufacturing careers, and train
the trainer programs. Manufacturers feel that students need an opportunity to develop people
skills – the 4 C’s – creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication. They also
believe that students should be taught analytical skills, conflict resolution, communications and
time management. Engagement, support and collaboration is needed from the manufacturing
sector. Regional manufacturing associations should be used as advisory councils for schools and
colleges. Manufacturing Month/Day is a great opportunity to bring manufacturers, students,
teachers, parents and guidance counselors together for tours, presentations, meetings, and more.
The group was hard pressed to identify the most innovative idea for engagement with educational
institutions. Although they identified team projects for students and hosting teachers for
presentations on manufacturing jobs and the skills needed to perform them, the body of the
information developed during this discussion speaks volumes about the work that needs to be
done with educators and students.
CONCLUSION
The feedback validated what we have been hearing from manufacturers for years, updated the
basic information, allowed the group to consider how much or little progress had been made over
the past few years, and illustrated how much more work there is to do to develop the
manufacturing workforce that Florida needs. The challenge now is determining how
manufacturers, the CareerSource Florida network, agencies, educators, students, parents, teachers
and other stakeholders can work together to affect changes needed, with the resources available.
APPENDIX
Questions/Answers from Leadership Council Problem Solving Session
How do you find talent now? At what level (Entry? Mid-skills? Experience?)
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Florida Marketplace (all)
University of Florida – interns
Technical colleges – entry to mid-level skills
Monster
Career Builder
Craigslist
Head Hunters – Experienced
Networking – mid skills experienced
Career academies – entry level
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LinkedIn and other social media – all levels
Internal postings
Newspapers for out of state candidates with mid-level skills
CareerSource for entry level
On the job training for entry level
Temp agencies
Company website
Head Hunter
Entry level – employment staffing
Internships
Mid-Skills – job boards, Monster, recruiters, networks
Referrals – I know a guy
Internal – develop and grow your own
Experience: recruited
Professional associations
Announcements in paychecks and pay bonus or finder’s fee
Post on website
CareerSource
Job websites
Recruiters
Navy
Florida State College
Networking
Kelly Services
Career fairs
College recruiters
Other organizations
Career Source
Monster
Interns
Temp Agencies
Colleges
Recruiter
LinkedIn
Career Academy
Department of Labor
Word of Mouth
Temp to Hire
Word of mouth
CareerSource
Everywhere
Look at people with looking for work ethic
College and universities
CareerSource
Head hunter
Referral
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Employee references
Call in
Word of mouth
What works in sourcing talent? What does not work?
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Temp Agency for low level for a test drive
Internships for training and test drive
Trial period for employee to evaluate their soft skills
CareerSoruce prescreening works well
Out of state hiring doesn’t work well
Everything works, just how you use it
Sell pathway, not a job
Job fairs statewide
Reward for referrals after 90 days of employment
National newspapers
Clear idea of what you are looking for written in language of industry
Skill level of interviewing process
If you want better recruiting results, you need better recruiting – must get the right fit
for the company
Least – newspaper and magazine
Old traditional don’t work anymore (Monster even)
What does work – CareerSource, colleges (after graduation), networking groups and
LinkedIn
Depends upon who you are looking for.
CareerSource for some/not top level
Some work better than others
Doesn’t work with some temp agencies
Yes – special or skill level and job descriptions
No – outdated job descriptions and employer/job search websites
Internet search engines
Internal
Regional job board
Do you use the Career Source Florida network to source talent or find training grant
assistance? Why or why not?
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CareerSource is used for talent and grant assistance
Yes.
No. But the Temp agencies do
Didn’t know about it
Limitations to funding
For training grants, good
Conduit for $$
Rarely used for finding people
Part of process but not effective, not enough momentum
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Not a source
Yes (3)
It’s been working
Grants have helped and source of training
Yes, OJT, incumbent worker training, internship grant
Sometimes they don’t’ understand job description
Georgia has more comprehensive testing.
Yes and no – baseline or starting point
No and no
No and yes
No due to lack of awareness
Users of system find quality of applicants very lacking
CareerSource applicants have low manufacturing experience
Do you have unfilled positions now? Why?
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Yes – growth and lack of talent pipeline
Yes – need perfect person for the job and culture of the company
Yes – hard skill, soft skill issues
Yes
Yes – welding is always open
Yes – skills important but personality and fitting into culture more important. Must
be more selective because of slow cycle of economy
Yes, electronic technicians, quality technicians, quality engineers
Yes, high level machinists, CNC programmers
Yes – welders
Yes (3) – have not found a fit, qualified, drug free person who wants to work
HS and college coursework doesn’t offer one course of quality.
Hires don’t have a skill set coming out of college
Southwest Florida has a talent problem at a higher level than others.
Entry level issues depends on the area
Hard to find drug free people
Yes, haven’t aggressively tried to fill it (job description)
Haven’t found the right candidate
Yes, lack of skilled workers, lots of unskilled applicants
Need US citizens that can pass security tests (not flexible on this)
More workers not experiencing PTSD
Don’t have teachers to teach skilled classes
Yes, looking for good experience and seasoning
What knowledge transfer issues are transformational? Which are critical?
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CNC set up first piece
Problem solving in technical manufacturing environment
Standardized processes for multi-machine operation
Security syndrome – eliminate
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Schools teaching the perception of industry, starting at 8th grade
Use an internal training method to transfer knowledge and document information.
Use pictures and tutorials.
Share tribal knowledge
TBA – someone close to retirement, given extra pay to personally mentor people for 1520 years
American Sterilizer mentor program
Plan for retirement
Video specific job skills over 40 years talking about what the person did and their
training
Team building
Quality
Core principles not being taught in high school
Need people willing to learn and have soft skills
Companies are creating their own training academies.
CEO needs to communicate what is important – Be proactive
Critical knowledge mentor, basics
Strength in numbers
Transformation – show people the big picture
Fears of exporting
Cross training
Strength in numbers
Work together to export, strongest export program
What global competitiveness issues are transformational? Which are critical?
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Lack of talent and hiring from one another creates artificial wage increase driving a
lack of global competitiveness
Medical Device Tax reduces scope of medical innovation and reduces job creation
(2.6%)
Value of the dollar – regulations (banking)
Taxation
International trade regulations – chemical, medical
No borders
We are missing kids in middle and high schools and marketing/branding
manufacturing to them
Senior leadership in companies don’t see value in getting involved in community (long
term planning) in education. 10 years out an overall strategy.
Companies haven’t recovered from downturn enough to turn focus on overall
objectives/goals.
Price/quality
New technology/automation
Transformational – export assistance
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Is Florida’s education system providing what you need (secondary/postsecondary/university)? Which entity does it best and why?
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Secondary – not today but will in the future
Post-secondary – hit or miss, but in panhandle have a couple universities doing well
(hiring entry level with good skills)
Yes/No – secondary and career technical education no, not enough and courses not
completely focused. Post-secondary does it best, because it is focused.
No, not getting skilled workers
Don’t want to put kids in FL School system, put kids in private schools
4 C’s – life skills
Recruiting the right people into training
No. Need to market manufacturing and show kids why they should go into the
industry.
Business ethics not being taught.
At all levels improvement needs to take place
Room for improvement
Precision is not taught
Schools not working together
Lately yes, but not before because they are working with them.
They aren’t providing what we need because they don’t’ know what we need and don’t’
have funds to address what we need
There are pockets of interest in having students, teachers and manufacturer come
together
Only works when everyone works together
Works when industry is engaged
Manufacturers must get involved
No, TRADE grant helps at post-secondary with that.
Need more shop classes at high schools
How are you looking inside your company at your own employees to further develop
existing talent?
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LDI – Leadership Development Institute
Upward mobility
OJT programs
Employee assessments for skill evaluation
On-line development at university – internet via VPN
Yes, Can transfer after one year.
Don’t see it inside our company
No consistent approach
Exclusively happening
Ohio – Midwest on energy, labor and sales tax elimination
Offer further degrees (paid for) i.e. Associates, etc.
Soft skill training, training programs
Structural? Content? Who drives it?
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There is a disconnect between schools/students/professors/fields
Cross-training matrix = validate skills and ask employees what they want to learn
Help employers get grants
Offering educational assistance to employees/tuition reimbursement
Need career ladders within company
Need employees to know where they can go
Company needs to realize that some need to stay where they are
Assess the skills of each employee for moving up
Use TRADE grant and customized worker training
Peer to peer training (mentorship and apprenticeship)
How do manufacturers accelerate technology transfer?
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OJT programs – employees goes through several departments
Bring in certified trainers, hardware and software
Training
Automation
Added higher automation lines
Dept. of Education doesn’t seem to get it
Need to see value of industry jobs and careers
Believe we need to build partnerships and coalitions to make changes. What is being
done is not working.
Is the Department of Education pushing trade? It needs to be pushed down.
Poorly – global is better than local
More training
We are not, that is the problem.
Need to learn more about smart manufacturing
Training within the organization
Plant tours and digitization and boot camp
How do manufacturers capture tribal knowledge?
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Standard processes
Documented procedures
Instructions
PHA product hazard analysis/job analysis
Consultant
Sharepoint
Benchmark testing
They are not; it worries them.
Need technology.
Peer to peer
Internal focus/mentoring and digital files
Are industry recognized credentials important? If so, which ones?
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Yes – MSSC CPT
Credentials support education and show that businesses care about what they are
doing
MSSC/CPT certification is solid – Applicants get put to the top of the list
IHK, MMSC, NIMS, AWS, AMS, ASMT, Must be nationally recognized
Yes – quality ASQ
APIS – supply chain
Trades – no card carrying
Certifications are really not important because they will train. We don’t even ask
about them.
Some professions do require and have helped but it depends on the industry
Johnson & Johnson has in-house certifications
No
Nice to have but attitude, initiative and work ethic are more important
Math skills important
Yes and no, but if they can do it without then sometimes it’s better for manufacturers
or they otherwise risk losing employees
Good for employee if it can’t be taken away.
Not really – MSSC is nice but really not necessary
Credentials are just a leg up
No
Not really – MSSC is nice but really not necessary
Credentials are just a leg up
No
Miscellaneous Issues
 Trailing spouse incorporating into the community
 Culture of company community
 Local poaching
Hot Topic Questions
To grow your company you need to export/to export more. What are your barriers and
how could you be helped with that?
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Funding for Florida from Enterprise Florida International Trade program
One on one mentoring and experiences
List of what other countries need
EFI regional trade success groups go talk to other manufacturers
Government regulations are a barrier such as tariffs and trade agreements
International business skills to understand barriers to entry – regional or cultural
State differences in tax rules, driving rates, etc.
Need help in conduct of the country – specific requirements, issues, broker to
expertise
Directory for all manufacturers
Customers moved off shore, but we still see them.
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Offshore business can leave at any time
How do I sell my product, how do I locate,
No barrier to shipping but how do I find shippers?
Barriers to Florida when economy tanks, business goes north.
Regulations are the barriers
System knowledge
Red tape
Export financing
Risk support (financing)
Lack of experience
Help would look like training, central training/support on the state level and
guidance/protection
Relations with other countries; need partnerships with country to get products out
Awareness in other countries
Have issues with product shipping out of US because licensure takes a long time to be
put in place
Barriers can vary per country
Receiving money
Need help getting larger market share
Need US Trade office to provide info to help
Need access to ports and roads
Need harbors to stay dredged
Knowledge of opportunities
Expense of international sales force
Connections to international/world
Long vetting process
Time difference
Don’t have the first idea on how to export
Regulatory considerations (nonstandard regulations)
Basic awareness of steps to exporting
Infrastructure is a huge issue in southwest Florida
Transportation is an issue
Not enough rail or other means to get to major ports
Logistics isn’t easy (customs, ports)
North central Florida – cost to ship south (lack of freight)
Lack of tax breaks they get on exports – also no awareness of what is available now
Existing tax laws/export laws prohibit them from shipping/selling to more countries
Trade laws limit US and push other companies to set up in other countries
(headquarters)
No loyalty in US because can make profit (more) in other states/countries
Loss of pride in US on products, services etc.
Table consensus on most innovative idea:
 We need one on one detailed information and funding
 None
 Meet with trade experts to find barriers in each country
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Collaborate with similar manufacturers to ship products together to save costs
Collaborative effort between Enterprise Florida, US Commercial Service, SBDC, MAF,
etc. on how to export
How might we move technology acceleration to change the bottom line? How do you
capture tribal knowledge?
Technology
 New applications
 Automation
 Funding
 University relationships such as IP protocols and funds
 Advanced equipment purchases
 ROI – incentives, tax breaks
 Game changer – volume to convert to automation
 Investing big impact
 Could not justify 3D
 Standards – cost and tolerance
 Measure EBITA
 Higher tech would increase production, but cannot justify initial investment
 R&D tax credits – every year will they, won’t they? Make it permanent
 FL – only large companies ($ million can access)
 Other states have done this. States that haven’t Mass, NH, Texas, CA, Arizona, GA
 Mechanical vs digital
 3D technology to quicken testing and moving development
 Making data easy. Capturing the data.
 MT connect
 Virtual training
 Who is identifying technology?
 Awareness of technology needed
 Look ahead
 Accept and implement
 Calculate return on investment
 High mix, low volume, (getting automation to capture tribal knowledge would be
effective)
 Automate information – get information flowing – process development – drive
automation with automating information.
 Get information transparent – use Sharepoint program – transparent visual programs
 Older employees need a print
 Manufacturing Executive Systems (MES) to include Programs: CATIA has annotations
Sharepoint is web based and a data management system
 Process development to manage information.
Tribal Knowledge
 Proactive
 Apprenticeship
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Video people near retirement
Formal program such as TVA, Caterpillar
Mentoring
ISO
Digital record, filming, training
Engineering
Proper documentation and how it is distributed
Knowledge has to be almost instant, there is constant change.
Have knowledge of the client.
Job observation
Sharp audit
Job analysis
Benchmark testing
SOP/evaluation
Identify critical steps
Get teams together; make sure they are open to change
Practical ideas will come from the user
Break down resistance
Develop collaborated cloud based knowledge pools
Document everything always
Table consensus on most innovative idea for Technology:
 Team effort from universities
 Improve intellectual property relations
 One on one with university that has expertise to meet manufacturing needs
 Research in the real world
 Florida adopt bonus depreciation
 None
Table consensus on most innovative idea for Tribal Knowledge:
 Mentorship process
 Timeline
 Awareness
 None
 Apprenticeships
 Film the trainings
 None
What are the career ladders in your company? What would an ideal progression look like?
What assistance do you need?
 The group referred to Al Stimac’s presentation and the career ladder he prepared.
 Need more structure and formal
 Consider Caterpillar best practice
 From entry level to professional management
 Separate training for each ladder
 Job family – skilled trades, apprentice, journeyman, master
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Quality – technical engineering, management
Engineering – junior, senior scientists
Caterpillar best practice – career development assessment approach
All informal
Individual must take initiative to develop self
For welders – generic machine shop training, machinists vs machine operators,
maintenance
For machine operators – set up mechanic first
We have a lack of equipment for training.
Where do we find teachers who are current and up to date?
Worker to supervisor to manager to GM
Company will recognize talent
Going from unskilled labor all the way to a skilled position
Starting from unskilled, progressing and training your replacement
Need IWT grants, specialized training in specific fields, focused training/funding
No real career ladder
CEO, CFO, VPs – Build for growth, supervisors of training, annual profit sharing
No formal career path
Self-nominations to enter leadership program – training, counseling/monitoring and
metrics
For a machining company
o Entry level – Production, Detail, CNC operator, Packaging, assembly
o Next step – CNC Machinist or Quality
o Next step – Program Management, Process Planning, Estimator, or Leadership
Management
o Next step – CMM Programming or CNC Programming
o In the last two steps above, at any point employees can go into Management/
Department Leadership
For a medical manufacturer
o Entry level – Machinist, Engineering Technician, CNC Operators
o Next step – Machinist 1 operators, Machinist 2 or Process development, Machinist
3 or Engineering (that first started out in Production)
o Next step – Manufacturing engineers or Manufacturing Supervisors
o Next step – Production managers or Quality managers
o Next step – Executive level
Depends on the business
Depends on what part of company you are in. Degreed operations learn different skills
Paths are determined by degree vs non-degree
Leadership training for individual companies
Roundtable discussions with business leaders
Help to bridge gap between academia and manufacturers
Needs to re-educate DOE on priorities
Push educators to put value on manufacturing
Need to get better instructors for technical schools/community colleges
The system to become a teacher is too difficult and pay is an issue
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Table consensus on most innovative idea for career ladders:
 Connect career ladder to competency and performance review
 Self-nomination process (Degree and commitment to advance)
How might we engage with educational institutions at all levels to make a difference for
your company?
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Introduce companies to Dream It Do It and then orchestrate their engagement
Use MAF to inform and show teachers what manufacturers need
Parents, teachers, students and manufacturers need to work together
Provide externships
Use the regional manufacturing association as an advisory council
Educate the teachers
It is about the process, not the course
It is about more people skills rather than technical skills such as creative, critical thinking,
collaborative and communication
Need more influence with academia not just engagement
Only college provides success – really!!!
Disconnect between industry and academia
Need to know what is available, like grants and how to get them
The time to create new programs takes too long
No collaboration between colleges
Making curriculum takes too long
Real world training on site with current machinery
Offer plant tours
Have a statewide best practice to engage; have a model
Must be relevant
Presentation given by someone local, or closer to their age
Educate the teacher
TIES program. Funds teacher training for two week; teacher internship
Meaningful internships
Work closely with the school board
Exploratory class
Involve manufacturing in Junior Achievement
Partner with related companies, technical colleges and career academies
Bring in elementary school students
Host tours during Manufacturing Day for students, teachers and professors
Host teachers; give focused presentation on types of jobs and skills needed to succeed in
them
Teach Analytical skills, conflict resolution, communications and time management
Train the trainer program where teachers and educators come into the company to learn
Branding manufacturing as safe, clean, career friendly environment
Manufacturing Day/Month
Facility Tours, Plant Tours
Proclamation
Open door tours for educational institution
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Engagement, support and collaboration is the key from the business sector
Business and University collaboration with increased/accelerated product to market
(R&D)
The engagement and collaboration between multiple partners is critical with backing of
industry
Branding
Difficult culture of how an early career can transform to a higher education degree
Start with middle school to grab the students’ attention
Engage teachers and parents
Guidance counselors
Manufacturing Days – Promote – and Manufacturing Week
Glamorize manufacturers
Do a better job of education and sales
Hire a PR company to change image
Table consensus on most innovative idea for School Involvement:
 None
 Team Projects
 Presentations
 None
 Host teachers; give focused presentation on types of jobs and skills needed to succeed in
them
 None
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Medical Manufacturer
Career Ladder
Ground level
• Machinist
• Engineering
• Technician
• CNC Operator
• Machinist I Operator
• Machinist II Operator
(process development)
• Machinist III Operator
(first stage of product)
Entry level
• Manufacturing
engineers
• Manufacturing
supervisors
Second level
Third level
• Executive level positions
• Production managers
• Quality managers
Exec.
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Machining Company
Career Ladder
Ground level
• Production
• Detail
• CNC Operator
• Packaging
• Assembly
• CNC Machinist
• Quality
• Program management
• Process Plan
• Estimator
• Leadership
management
Entry level
• Employees can go into
management/department
leadership at any point in
ladder
Second level
Third level
• CMM Programming
• CNC Programming
Notes
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