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Unemployment is at record highs but the companies my wife, brother, sister and I work at all report they can't find enough qualified candidates for both skilled and unskilled jobs.
Do you believe this is true or is this just a way to convince the feds to let in more cheap immigrants?
Qualified candidates are EASY to find. Most businesses simply don't want to pay them what they deserve so they go on to something else.
My old boss used to complain about not being able to find qualified candidates... but in reality he wanted too much and was offering too little pay and a not so great work environment. It's kind of telling when you have 3 people in a row walk out during the interview process. I was recently offered a position as a Jr. Engineer for an aerospace company near the bay area in CA and they wanted to start me out at 23k a year.... and required a 4 year degree and 5+ years of experience. It took everything I had not to start laughing when they gave me that number. I could get a job at Best Buy as a Department lead for that much!
Maybe they should take a look at their compensation packages and figure out why they can't attract the right employees.
It's true, Our machine shop has 9 spots that we would like to fill, but we only want the best. We have filled 2 in the last 6 months. We get about 200 apps a month. Only about 7 are qualified and 5 of those usually fail our practical test which includes some basic trig and a multiple choice feeds and speeds and situational scenarios test. Usually one guy that passes doesn't like what we are paying and looks elsewhere, but one guy usually makes it and a few months later he is fired.
Our issues with employees are.
1. Child care issues causing tardiness and excessive time off. People usually give us way more info than we need to know and one of the things we look for is when they ask if we are "flexible."
2. Slow production, not meeting quotas. This is usually caused by excessive smoke/bathroom/computer "research" breaks so we look for non smokers non tobacco users.
3. Junking parts, reading blueprints wrong, simple errors that cost us a lot of money. A little brick of titanium is worth more than we pay the employee to make it. It is illegal to take money from their paychecks so, we have a quota 3 junk parts a month in your second month and you are gone.
We have a core employee base, that are the cream of the crop and are paid well. WE start at $20/hr but most people after 5 or 7 years are making 6 figures easy with overtime. We are willing to pay, but you have to be really good at what you do. You can't be late, and you can't constantly be calling in with child care issues. We all have children, and wives who work, so those excuses don't fly.
I can't speak for other industries/sectors but good Machinists are hard to come by.
What drives me crazy is that I see jobs online all the time, I qualify in every aspect aspect for like one requirement. I'm a good worker, but because I don't have ONE thing they want they would rather post over and over again than train someone!
It's true, Our machine shop has 9 spots that we would like to fill, but we only want the best. We have filled 2 in the last 6 months. We get about 200 apps a month. Only about 7 are qualified and 5 of those usually fail our practical test which includes some basic trig and a multiple choice feeds and speeds and situational scenarios test. Usually one guy that passes doesn't like what we are paying and looks elsewhere, but one guy usually makes it and a few months later he is fired.
Our issues with employees are.
1. Child care issues causing tardiness and excessive time off. People usually give us way more info than we need to know and one of the things we look for is when they ask if we are "flexible."
2. Slow production, not meeting quotas. This is usually caused by excessive smoke/bathroom/computer "research" breaks so we look for non smokers non tobacco users.
3. Junking parts, reading blueprints wrong, simple errors that cost us a lot of money. A little brick of titanium is worth more than we pay the employee to make it. It is illegal to take money from their paychecks so, we have a quota 3 junk parts a month in your second month and you are gone.
We have a core employee base, that are the cream of the crop and are paid well. WE start at $20/hr but most people after 5 or 7 years are making 6 figures easy with overtime. We are willing to pay, but you have to be really good at what you do. You can't be late, and you can't constantly be calling in with child care issues. We all have children, and wives who work, so those excuses don't fly.
I can't speak for other industries/sectors but good Machinists are hard to come by.
You must live in a fairly low COL area because I know a few Machinists and they would't work for $20 an hour starting. I worked at a company that had it's own machine shop and we started out our interns and apprentices at a little over $20.... our actual machinists made twice that to start.
So how do "cheap immigrants" equate with finding quality machinists? Are you saying your employer believes immigrants are better (as in quality) at a machinist's job? If that is the case (and it could very well be the case), then I can see why your employer is holding out for cheaper labor for the same or better quality of work as their American-born counterparts. But, if that's not what you mean---then I have a few other reasons why this is happening. The first being, the HR department is dragging their feet with the hiring process. In my 25+ year career, this has definitely been the case (especially at mid to large sized companies) more often than not. Recruiters and admin staff get so many resumes and applications that they simply get sick of looking at them. The second reason, the employer is lying about not being able to find quality people. It's likely they simply don't want to hire in an unstable economy--or--pay them what they're worth. It's better for them to save on their salary budgets until the hiring climate feels safer to them. Just my two cents.
Last edited by TotallyTam; 11-19-2012 at 05:35 PM..
My dept is having a hard time finding technical applicants with some SQL skills.
It's more difficult during the holidays. SQL people always seem to be in demand. We had a few resumes and 1 interview. They were asked to make a change to a simple database of 10 rows. They normally "google for the answer at their last company" is their response. Better luck in the future, buddy. Resume was pure BS about 10 years of experience.
These positions pay $70-85k in a low cost of living area. That's pretty good money for 4-5 years experience.
Last edited by move4ward; 11-19-2012 at 05:44 PM..
You must live in a fairly low COL area because I know a few Machinists and they would't work for $20 an hour starting. I worked at a company that had it's own machine shop and we started out our interns and apprentices at a little over $20.... our actual machinists made twice that to start.
I don't know your age but $20 is pretty good to start especially if you're 22 and fresh out of college with a company you have never worked for we pay time and a half overtime as well. I don't care if they were making $40 an hour at a unionized defense contractor. It's a new era. They are more than welcome to keep getting that $340 a week unemployment or burn through their savings if $20/hr is beneath them. Oh and just so you know, Boeing pays $16.75-$21.50hr in Seattle for a starting machinist and they are union. There are different levels of machinist too, most places have a scale that goes by longevity and experience. And you're right these old timers want $40 an hour and to be honest they aren't worth it, and they never were. It's simple economics, why pay a 50 year old with health problems $40 dollars/hr to gripe and complain about everything, when you can get a 22 year old for a fraction of the cost that is healthy and you can mold.
I work for a small company that specializes in prototype, tool and die, small quantity production and EDM work. Next to impossible to find qualified candidates. We went through about 4 CNC machinists since I started there about 6 months ago. They won't even take apprentices anymore. They break too much crap, scrap too much work, make too many excuses, miss too much work, and never seem to make an effort to change.
Part of the problem is a lot of guys come from larger production shops where they run the same jobs over and over again. The work is usually easy and even if they screw it up, they have a chance to get it right next time around. When they see the pay offered, they think they will be getting paid more to do the same cush work. Yea, they don't last long.
We do more challenging work and it's never the same. It requires the ability to work independently, and get the job done right the first time. No second chances. A lot of the parts we get have many hours of work already invested, so if they get scrapped, the company is down hundreds, often thousands of dollars. Try as we may, it's almost impossible to find the right guys for the jobs. We pay very competitively as well. Up to $35/hr, and we get our health insurance covered 100%, matched 401K up to 4%, good overtime opportunity, life and dental. We definitely work for it, but if you want a decent income in any line of work, that's generally the way it goes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TotallyTam
So how do "cheap immigrants" equate with finding quality machinists? Are you saying your employer believes immigrants are better (as in quality) at a machinist's job? .
No company would be stupid enough to invest the years and money training someone who could be deported at any moment. Illegals are used for cheap unskilled labor in any place I have ever worked. And yes, they fill that role better than any American. Not really fair competition though... They are happy with minimum wage so long as they have access to our plethora of tax payer subsidies. I'm sure they would thank you for the free tacos if they knew the language.
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