Pittsburgh's aging workforce

[wanderlust76]

Here is a snippet from a real job ad posted on Pittsburgh craigslist in the manufacturing category

1 General Labor Heavy eye hand coordination, repetitive work - Taping
acrylic to cardboard, removing tape from acrylic, grinding outside edge of 12lb
steel box

Gee that sounds like a blast for 10 bucks an hour who wouldn't want that job?

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by SorryIMovedBack

F ing boolshet. Up here in Mercer County, there are many workers over 60, maybe even over 65, who can still hoof it up and down assembly lines or do manual labor in a foundry, or many other jobs. There are Registered Nurses still working at age 70. Maybe the whineybaby 20-and 30-somethings who are screening all the resumes and deciding who to interview should avail themselves of the talent that's out there, and the Gobernment should start ENFORCING the anti-age-discrimination laws that are on the books.

Sorry, folks, but if we are all supposed to work until age 70 or 75, then the Gobernment and King Obama need to fix this problem of everyone getting "laid off" or otherwise getting tossed out of their careers at age 50, and 50-and-up being also "too old" to be rehired. Or retrained. It would not hurt employers to do some OTJ training, either, the way they used to.

OMG, for the first time, I agree with SIMB!!!

[SorryIMovedBack]

Oh, I was confident that it'd just be a matter of time, Copa. >;-D Looking at all workers over age 45 or 50 as "old" is just old-fashioned antiquated crap. Now, there are some hard-drinking, hard-living people whose bodies are shot by the time they hit 35 or 40. But by and large, 50 isn't even old nowadays. The retirement age of 65 was set in an era when most people didn't have a chance of living that long. Mlllwork and childbearing killed off most people in their 40s. Now that the average life expectancy is in the 70s, it's ridiculous to call 50 "old." People in my family live into their 80s and 90s with no really serious health problems.

[SorryIMovedBack]

Originally Posted by wanderlust76

Here is a snippet from a real job ad posted on Pittsburgh craigslist in the manufacturing category

" General Labor Heavy eye hand coordination, repetitive work - Taping
acrylic to cardboard, removing tape from acrylic, grinding outside edge of 12lb
steel box "

Gee that sounds like a blast for 10 bucks an hour who wouldn't want that job?

$10/hr seems to be the entry level laborer wage up her in Mercer and Crawford Counties. Probably $13 - $15 /hr + OT is what most manufacturing here pays. If you want to make money in manufacturing, go into Maintenance. Millwrights were in the $18/hr range 4-5 years ago and electricians were $22. + OT. And those people get a lot of OT. There is job security in maintenance, too: Especially with the old factories that are cobbled together and modified and patched, they need consistent staffing and maintenance workers who are very familiar with that facility and what's been done to it, because the owners can't just bring in a newbie or a temp employee for that kind of mess.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by SorryIMovedBack

Now that the average life expectancy is in the 70s, it's ridiculous to call 50 "old." People in my family live into their 80s and 90s with no really serious health problems.

I don't mind being called "old" (although I'm still in good shape. FWIW, next year I'm hoping to do the Marine Corp Marathon). I draw the line at being called "elderly" though. I have a good 20-30 years before I'll be elderly. BTW, according to some actuarial tables the average life expectancy recently crossed over and is now in the 80s.

[Moby Hick]

Apparently, all the old people are out in the suburbs while Pittsburgh proper is now officially below average as far as the proportion of the population that is elderly. Maybe I'll go buy a skateboard or figure out if the kids are still listening to Debbie Gibson.

The Pub | UCSUR

[chielgirl]

Originally Posted by Scott2187

Confronting the U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Skills Gap — The American Magazine

Want Jobs? Try Advanced Manufacturing — The American Magazine

There's a major skills gap. We need to get more people into the technical trades programs to fill these gaps. One important thing to tell them: getting a pointless 4 year degree isn't the only way one can be successful.

Other than slamming "pointless" education, what do you have to offer?
Why do you care what people choose to become educated in.

There are no technical colleges in the area.
Where do you expect people to garner these "not pointless" skills?

Originally Posted by wanderlust76

Here is a snippet from a real job ad posted on Pittsburgh craigslist in the manufacturing category



Gee that sounds like a blast for 10 bucks an hour who wouldn't want that job?

For someone with no education (perhaps not a HS grad), or a limited skills set, that's not a bad job at all.
Everyone doesn't start out at the top end of the totem pole.
Not everyone is meant for an office job.
Pittsburgh is lucky to have manufacturing jobs, not every city does.