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Moldmakers Cite “Attitude” As Hiring Difficulty

In addition to concerns about skill level and experience, respondents to a recent American Mold Builders Association (AMBA) survey indicated that “attitude” was also a major hindrance to finding and hiring skilled workers.   According to the Rolling Meadows, Illinois-based organization, nearly all of the respondents to the Spring Business Forecast Survey answered a query regarding their top three hiring challenges.

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The Spring Business Forecast Survey of the American Mold Builders Association included questions concerning finding and hiring skilled workers. With business picking up and backlogs increasing, companies are on the hunt for skilled machinists, mold designers, and mold makers.

Nearly all of the respondents answered the request to list their top three hiring challenges. Some of the responses had common themes: attitude, skill level, experience were mentioned most often.

 Comments included: “1) Finding people with the work ethic we need. 2) Finding intelligent people who still want to work with their hands. 3) Finding people who still believe manufacturing is a legitimate, long term career opportunity.”

Another commented: “CNC machinists with programming experience are hard to find. Finding experienced mold designers with ‘solids’ experience. Finding people that are willing to work second shift.”

One responded that challenges 1, 2 and 3 are: “Finding good people who can perform (do the work) at the level of efficiency and quality that they claim in the interview process.”

For another respondent it all boiled down to “Attitude. Attitude. Attitude.”

The competition for skilled workers is also heating up as mold manufacturers become busier. Several cited the fact that fewer people in the trade means fewer applicants and more competition for the available applicants.

Companies are getting creative in their search for employees. When asked where they have been finding skilled people or apprentices, many cited “networking” as the primary method they use to find skilled people. Others said advertising including newspapers and Craigslist; former employees; and contacting employees from companies that have gone out of business.

One respondent mentioned that apart from difficulty finding people with the skills required, “finding people that fit our culture” is another aspect of the search.

Mike Armbrust, President of the American Mold Builders Association, and general manager of Mako Mold corp. in St. Charles, IL, agrees: “We in our industry are having difficulty finding the skilled labor force our industry requires. Beyond the difficult of simply finding someone with the training and qualification required to perform the job at hand, finding someone that fits your company’s culture can prove to be as difficult and is often something that comes down to a ‘gut-check.’”

A mission of the AMBA is to encourage young people to enter the trade and to that end has revised its scholarship program to help facilitate education in moldmaking in the USA. Priority for the scholarships will be to assist students wanting to pursue a career in mold design, CAD/CAM programming for machine tools, machine tool skills or moldmaking; plastics industry manufacturing (including plastics engineering, plastic part design or plastics processing technicial.  Eligibility requirements and applications for the AMBA Scholarships can be found at

www.amba.org

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