Maybe this is why Detroit is having such a difficult time finding qualified people to work here?

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by DONNIEANDDONNA417

must have automotive industry experience...you do drive don't you?

LOL, maybe I'll add it to my resume. But it's a Mazda.

[Retroit]

Originally Posted by Tekkie

This type of short-sighted argument is just ignorant to me.

People who make this type of argument seem to base it off the premise that experienced professionals grow on trees somewhere. False. They are educated, they are trained up, and they are groomed. Somebody has to do it, it doesn't just happen overnight while they're sleeping.

I read in a newspaper a little while back about how, with the economic rebound, they were having a difficult time finding qualified people for jobs around the Metro Detroit area. *Sigh* It's the same ol' song, same ol' dance. No ****, Sherlock...when nobody bothers training anybody for a particular industry or career, this shortage of qualified labor is going to happen.

Good luck attracting anybody here from out of state. "Welcome to Metro Detroit. Oh, by the way, good luck finding a job if you don't have automotive industry experience."

Detroit has a lot of qualified automotive people. They can be as selective as they want.

I understand your frustration, though, from an unemployed person's point-of-view. I encountered the same problem when I was starting out. But you can't blame the employers. Why should they train someone if they don't have to?

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by Retroit

Detroit has a lot of qualified automotive people. They can be as selective as they want.

I understand your frustration, though, from an unemployed person's point-of-view. I encountered the same problem when I was starting out. But you can't blame the employers. Why should they train someone if they don't have to?

Where did I say I was unemployed? I've indicated in this thread that I'm not unemployed. See post 13.

I've been working in supply chain management for the past five years. I have plenty of applicable experience and skills to offer. Heck, I've even worked indirectly in the auto industry way back when I worked for a non-destructive testing firm as an admin.

As for your last point, fair enough. I wouldn't suggest anybody without automotive industry experience to move here then. Your career will be over before it began. And your entire regional economy will once again die off with those who hold these sacred positions. Good luck with that.

[DTWflyer]

There are many jobs in Metro Detroit that are not affiliated with the auto industry. However, the vast majority of supply chain jobs are related to the auto industry.

[Tekkie]

Originally Posted by DTWflyer

There are many jobs in Metro Detroit that are not affiliated with the auto industry. However, the vast majority of supply chain jobs are related to the auto industry.

This is what I've noticed, hence the origination of this thread. However, I'd argue that just as many of the jobs in other fields (outside of healthcare) are just as heavily tied into the auto industry. Like I said before, it's like an exclusive club here.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

There are some peculiarities of automotive versus certain other hardware systems.

One thing is the very high tooling and material costs. And unlike some other hardware industries there is a very set cadence of the model year. So ROI of any outlay is going to come under intense scrutiny unless you want to go BK. I think there probably really is a specific art of the trade so to speak, where someone already in automotive will simply know how to cope with this via tribal knowledge.

Someone coming into it from telco where there are 5 year or longer product cycles, or even IT hardware oriented with Intel's tick and tock, may have a steep learning curve.

Then there are some plain old weird things. I know a guy who came into telco from automotive. He fought a real uphill battle trying to get the company to adopt torx fasteners (e.g. since they were considered, at the time, robotic friendly). It was one of those things where telco people would say "what? torx in a central office switch?!" These things are mind sets. It goes both ways.

Not saying I agree 100% with the point of view of employers on this but can understand why they have the point of view they do.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

There are some peculiarities of automotive versus certain other hardware systems.

One thing is the very high tooling and material costs. And unlike some other hardware industries there is a very set cadence of the model year. So ROI of any outlay is going to come under intense scrutiny unless you want to go BK. I think there probably really is a specific art of the trade so to speak, where someone already in automotive will simply know how to cope with this via tribal knowledge.

Someone coming into it from telco where there are 5 year or longer product cycles, or even IT hardware oriented with Intel's tick and tock, may have a steep learning curve.

Then there are some plain old weird things. I know a guy who came into telco from automotive. He fought a real uphill battle trying to get the company to adopt torx fasteners (e.g. since they were considered, at the time, robotic friendly). It was one of those things where telco people would say "what? torx in a central office switch?!" These things are mind sets. It goes both ways.

Not saying I agree 100% with the point of view of employers on this but can understand why they have the point of view they do.

As someone with a lot of automotive experience who *left* Detroit, one thing I can say about this is if you're looking at sites like "Michigan Works" and the like, you'll see thousands of postings for jobs that will never be filled.. not sure why, but companies like GM like to clog the system with postings for jobs that they aren't really hiring for, and those jobs often have unreasonably detailed requirements - "Must have at *least* 12 years of experience designing passenger seat lower trim panels in woodgrain finishes"..

Even in the midst of well-publicized "hiring freezes", when automakers made it clear that no one is getting hired, those postings would pop and get renewed indefinitely. And usually, half-a-dozen contract houses would post different versions of the same job, hoping they would be firm to find the magic "unicorn" who actually *did* have 12 years of experience designing passenger seat lower trim panels in woodgrain finishes..

I think the only thing worse than getting "locked out" of a job board because you lack experience is having that experience and sifting through a hundred freaking pages of job postings that originate from a company that isn't actually hiring anyone..