Careers in manufacturing go beyond the people who operate the machines. Just as important are the people who make sure the machines run. Industrial maintenance technicians and mechanics are in short supply.
"We can't graduate them fast enough," says Steve Bowron, dean of Career and Technical Education at Riverland Community College. Riverland offers one of just a handful of industrial maintenance diploma programs available in Minnesota. The Riverland program is specifically oriented to the needs of manufacturing plants.
More than working on cars
Typical students, Bowron says, are already in the workplace and "want to improve their work life." Students right out of high school "don't know that mechanics do something other than work on a car," Bowron says.
For people who do discover the industrial maintenance field, Bowron says, it opens lots of opportunities, including where you choose to live.
They like what they do
Once hired, industrial workers tend to stay put, according to Tim Fritz, director of industrial relations for Hormel Corporation. In one of its plants, Hormel discovered that more than 40 percent of its workers have been on the job for 25 years or more. "We don't see any turnover but retirement," Fritz says. "They're craftsmen. They like what they do."
That longevity has led to a situation where "an inordinate number of workers are retiring" in the next few years, Fritz says. Hormel is looking at creative ways to recruit and train new workers.
Riverland College is helping companies in its service area to come up with some of those creative solutions. For example, Riverland worked with Viracon, an architectural glass manufacturer headquartered in Owatonna, on a program that enables workers to obtain an associate's degree in five years with courses offered entirely at Viracon.
Career Paths Available
Further education can enable industrial maintenance technicians and mechanics to move up the career ladder. "Certainly there are career paths available to people who have the technical background and can show management and people skills," Fritz says.
Learn more at www.riverland.edu, search on "industrial maintenance." or call Steve Bowron at 507-379-3317.
Laura French is principal of Words Into Action, Inc., and is a freelance writer from Roseville.
