Manufacturing Careers On The Fast Track

A new program, co-sponsored by Hennepin Technical College and HIRED, works to bring qualified workers together with manufacturing companies offering secure, high-paying jobs.

By Laura French, Star Tribune Sales and Marketing

Last update: April 10, 2006 - 9:06 AM

The traditional job fair is a familiar event to many people: Job seekers go from booth to booth meeting potential employers and hoping to make a good first impression. In Minnesota, manufacturers who are eager to find qualified workers have turned the job fair 180 degrees. Representatives of hiring companies turned out to meet graduates of the Hennepin Technical College Manufacturing Careers Fast-Track Pathways Program.

Each employer took a turn telling prospective workers, "Here's why you should come to work for my company."

Where Employers and Employees Meet

Minnesota manufacturing companies have secure, high-paying jobs for qualified workers and there are workers in Minnesota who need those jobs. Bringing the two groups together can be a challenge. A new program co-sponsored by Hennepin Technical College and HIRED, a nonprofit that provides innovative work solutions, is helping to "Make It Happen."

In fact, Make It Happen is the slogan for the Manufacturing Careers Fast-Track Pathways Program, a 12-week, 96-hour program designed to provide entry-level manufacturing employees or new hires with metalforming skills, along with other education and training necessary for on-the-job success.

Joe Fredkove, director of training and business development at Hennepin Technical College in Plymouth, helped get the program off the ground, along with Nancy James, senior program director for HIRED. A demonstration project for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Manufacturing Institute Careers Campaign, Fast-Track Pathways also drew initial support from the Precision Metalforming Association of Minnesota.

Partners Working Together

The project is based on a new model for employment programs, Fredkove says. Participation of many community-based partners helps overcome a range of barriers to employment, from job training to transportation, childcare and occupational language skills.

Most important, Fredkove notes, the program is employer-driven. "The jobs have to be there before we recruit students into the program," he says. Twenty-three employers are involved as members of the core team or super-advisory board. Many of those employers attended the "reverse job fair," appealing to program participants to come to work at their companies.

In addition to metalforming, training in welding and CNC (computerized numerical control) machining will be available to the future groups of trainees. But that doesn't mean the program is narrowly focused. Fredkove calls it a "Manufacturing 101 boot camp." He says that 80 of the 96 hours in Level 1 of the program are devoted to basic skills like job planning, print reading, measurement, shop safety, and communication, as well as soft skills like attendance and motivation. After completing each of the program's three levels, participants receive full-time, on-the-job training for six to 18 months, applying what they've learned.

Measures Of Success

NAM has required the Fast-Track program to measure and report on its successes. To date, the statistics are impressive:

39 participants have completed Lvel 1 training.

34 of the initial class of 39 are employed full time.

86 percent of those who completed Level 1 training passed the National Institute of Metalwoking Skills (NIMS) certification exam.

The average wage for entry-level workers is $13.57.

69 percent of employed participants received a wage increase within 90 days.

For employees and employers, the program is living up to its slogan: Making It Happen.For more information, contact Joe Fredkove, 763-550-7218 or Judy Swanson, HIRED project manager, 952-933-9639, ext. 250. Laura French is principal of Words Into Action, Inc., and is a freelance writer from Roseville.

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