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By Nathan Peck | Knowledge
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WEST MICHIGAN — As a rising manufacturing tide raises the national and state economy, employers are experiencing challenges finding the top talent to fuel innovation going forward.

Employers are drawing on close ties with area universities to help fill positions and ensure that the students graduating from engineering programs have the skills they require.

John Patten, chair of the manufacturing engineering program at Western Michigan University.

John Patten, chair of the manufacturing engineering program at Western Michigan University, said that employers’ demands have not increased significantly, but added that new graduates should expect to hit the ground running when hired.

“I don’t see a major shift in what employers are asking for. They are continuing what they’ve been asking for in the last decade — asking people to do more with less, in general,” Patten told Knowledge. “There has always been an expectation that there is some training time with a graduate getting their feet wet. Now a number of graduates come out with some work experience, whether it’s an internship or co-op. Now they can push you harder and faster. It seems to be growing more in that direction.”

Employers are looking for engineers with the technical acuity and the soft skills to make them valuable assets to project teams, explained Christopher Sell, career development specialist for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at WMU.

Despite the stubbornly high unemployment rate in Michigan, engineering grads are entering a completely different jobs picture.

“The manufacturing engineering sector is not bad at all — it is all good. All the students that I’ve worked personally with since 2007-2008 have had jobs shortly after graduation. Many had jobs before they graduated. I tell them that they have to be willing to relocate. Jobs may not be as plentiful here in Michigan. They may have to leave for a few years, then try to return after they build up their resume.”

Connie Hamblin, VP of investor relations and corporate communications for Zeeland-based automotive supplier Gentex Corp., said that rebounding auto industry has meant the company has been in hiring mode for much of the last 18 months.

“Gentex had the first layoffs in the company’s history in the fourth quarter 2008, (but) we have rehired all those people back and more. That was the only thing we did. We tried to adjust our head count with the orders we had. When orders came back, we couldn’t adjust them upward fast enough to keep up. We have been playing catch-up ever since.”

Filling those positions is the task that has fallen to Bruce Los, VP of human resources. Since January this year, Gentex has added 70 salaried engineers, and Los credits close ties with colleges and universities such as Central Michigan University, Ferris State University, WMU, Michigan State University and Calvin College.

“We’ve been able to attract a very high caliber student from the 12-15 regional technical universities in a four-state area, our primary pool for talent. The universities that we recruit from are by design very responsive,” Los said. “Our strategy over the last 10 years has been to build long-term cooperative relationships with engineering universities that are hands-on and fit the model we’re looking for. We have a core group. We may have not only student visits but professor and entire departments and we go there to discuss what is changing in the workplace. The ones that we work with are much more customer-focused than they were 15-20 years ago.”

In addition to engineers, the company is in an ongoing search for skilled positions as well.

“Manufacturing has historically been a lowest common denominator. People would say that you could always get a job in manufacturing. That is not the case anymore,’ Los explained. “The environment is not an easy one to operate in, but for people who have experience doing well in manufacturing, our pay structure and benefits structure has been something that works out well for them.”

Mark Lindquist, president of Rapid-Line Inc., sees challenges recruiting both salaried and hourly employees. He is troubled by the number of engineering graduates that seek employment outside the state.

“Michigan graduates the most engineers in the country, but most leave the state. That is certainly not a good thing,” Lindquist said. While in the midst of the recession, the metal fabricator saw labor costs favoring employers. All the while, Grand Valley State University has been a good source for talent. As demand for engineers and skilled trades increases, Lindquist expects labor costs to rise as a result.

He also sees greater challenges in hiring skilled hourly employees as many schools cut back their vocational training and are working to re-establish them to meet employer needs. Baby Boomer machinists lack the computer skills to program and operate CNC machines. While many Millennials have the computer skills, they lack the machining skills. Lindquist recently hosted a job fair, and out of 70 machinists that applied, only two had the necessary skills. As a result, Rapid-Line has turned to training younger workers in cursory skills to operate machines on the floor.

To help stem that outgoing tide of talent and to strengthen ties with the educational systems, local groups like the Manufacturers Council sponsored by The Right Place Inc. — which Lindquist chairs – have actively sought education leaders to be a part of their organization. Representatives from Grand Valley State University, WMU and Grand Rapids Community College sit on the Manufacturers Council board, for instance.

“They are starting to get some programs going, but manufacturing is picking up and requiring more people. Our needs are growing faster than they can fill the void,” Lindquist told Knowledge. “It is not just Michigan. The problems with skilled labor shortages exist across the country. The losses were worst among the 20-40 year olds with skills that could pick up and move. That has been one of the biggest difficulties with us moving forward is that a lot of those people are gone.”

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TAGS:

• christopher sell
• connie hamblin
• education
• engineering programs
• gentex
• john patten
• manufacturing
• west michigan
• western michigan university