Chemical Engineering December 2017 - 16

PROGRAMS TO BOOST SKILLED TRADE WORKERS
T
he lack of skilled craft labor availability has been an issue for the
CPI, among other industry sectors for the past several years,
especially in regions where there are a large number of major
capital projects, such as the U.S. Gulf Coast. Indications are that the
issue will remain, but investment continues to be made in developing
the future workforce for skilled trade functions.
Mark Truchar, director of craft services at Fluor Corp. (Irving, Tex.;
www.fluor.com) says " I believe that the demand for qualified highly
skilled craft will remain high, " especially in the U.S. and especially with
regard to highly skilled specialty welders and pipefitters, " because
of the number of years of experience needed to become experts in
these specialties. "
The construction industry is seeing a large number of retirements,
which is creating vacancies for the next generation of craft professionals, "
Truchar says, and " while it has tapered somewhat, the outlook
for capital industrial construction projects is still very strong. " Coupled
with low unemployment rates (near 4%) in the U.S., the situation " creates
significant industry-wide challenges to find available people to
work on large projects, " he adds.
While present conditions indicate that current workforce issues are
likely to persist for the foreseeable future, Truchar says he is " confident
that the investments we are making in training craft professionals
will enable us to attract and develop our future workforce. "
Fluor has implemented a number or programs to address the challenge.
" Fluor training programs - including our pre-employment,
tuition-free craft training and our after-hours training at our jobsites -
will continue, " Truchar says, and a recently launched program called
Elite Craft Corps has been set up to meet the needs of specialty
welding and pipefitting. The Elite Craft Corps is a 70-person team
that represents the best personnel in terms of quality, safety and productivity,
Truchar explains. The Corps boasts some of the industry's
lowest weld reject rates and highest productivity levels, he says. The
group proactively deploys to construction sites to provide their indemand
services. For example, after completing a critical scope at
project site in Texas, they have now mobilized to Florida to support a
project there, Truchar says.
Terry Gillesio of Rockwell Automation (Milwaukee, Wis.; www.rockwellautomation.com)
agrees that the skills gap in the CPI and related
industry sectors is still present. " Both Rockwell itself as well as
its customers have experienced this skills gap in the CPI, " he says.
Rockwell
Automation
recently announced
collaboration
with Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C; Cleveland,
Ohio; www.tri-c.edu) on an industrial training program to help
meet the needs of today's advanced manufacturing jobs.
Tri-C's new Manufacturing Technology Center for Excellence in
Cleveland aims to combat the " convergence of workforce challenges
facing manufacturers, including changing technologies,
evolving skill sets, an aging workforce and a lack of interest in manufacturing
jobs. "
The center includes an integrated manufacturing line system that
replicates the products and technologies found in many modern
that involve cross-training to offer
experience for workers on a variety
of projects and functions of the business,
including research and development,
engineering, sales and
marketing and others. The goal is to
match a company's value proposition
with the talents and interests of
the workers.
" More opportunities for workers
give them a wealth of experience
that makes them valuable to
the company, but also give them a
16
manufacturing facilities. The program is available as a workforce training
and certification class for workers currently employed in industrial
operations that need upskilling, as well as students enrolled at the
college who are interested in pursuing careers in manufacturing.
The Manufacturing Technology Center for Excellence currently has
four different certification programs, including safety, quality practices
and measurement, manufacturing production and processes, and
maintenance awareness.
" We really wanted to focus on interdisciplinary training with a range
of different skills sets, " said Alicia Booker, vice president of manufacturing,
Tri-C. " We know manufacturing jobs aren't siloed anymore,
so we are providing hands-on training and skill development to help
prepare students joining the workforce for integrated and advanced
technologies out on the plant floor. "
" The skills gap is an issue that affects every industrial operation
today, " said Govind Sundararajan, business director for field labor and
training, Rockwell Automation. " This sort of hands-on training and
upskilling will be key to helping fill that gap. "
Another university-industry program related to skilled technical training
has been set up by Praxair, in collaboration with Ivy Tech Community
College in Indianapolis, Ind. Praxair Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.
praxair.com) announced an expansion of its Praxair Skills Pipeline
Workforce Development Program with Ivy Tech. The expanded program
will offer instruction, career support and professional development
opportunities to approximately 50 students training to become
advanced manufacturing technologists. After completing the oneyear
curriculum, students earn a certificate in industrial technology in
addition to a number of other skills-based certifications. The program
is being funded through a $100,000 contribution from Praxair's Global
Giving Program, with a conditional training grant of approximately
$100,000 from the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
Other examples of these industry-college models abound, such as a
partnership between Ranken Technical College in north St. Louis, Mo.
and Emerson Automation Solutions (St. Louis, Mo.; www.emerson.
com). Ranken's new Manufacturing Incubator facility contains a production
line with process control instruments from Emerson.
A different new program aims to support the education of skilled
workers at the high school level. Harbor Freight Tools (Calabasas,
Calif.; www.harborfreight.com) launched a program this year to award
teachers who instruct students in skilled trades at the high school
level. Ten winners of the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Awards
were announced recently. The company gave a total of $510,000 to
ten teachers from across the U.S. as part of the program.
" Skilled trades are vital to the economy, but there is still a stigma
associated with this work, " says Robin Kramer, the director of the
awards program at Harbor Freight. " Further, professional development
programs for these teachers are not great, so we are trying to
support that. "
This is the first year the prizes were awarded, but the company is
trying to use the awards as a way of growing centers of excellence for
teaching skilled trades, from which others can learn.
sense of engagement and impact, "
Deloitte's Dickson agrees.
Dickson explains further: " A lot of
sophisticated strategies are being
tried, all with the aim of changing the
shape of what it's like to be new in
a chemical manufacturing company.
By exposing newer workers to the
right experiences, the companies
are able to steer employees toward
opportunities that resonate with
them and maintain motivation. "
In addition to experiential programs,
much attention is also being
paid to workplace design and work
schedules, Rogers-Whaley says.
" There is a lot of movement on
workplace design - open concepts
are popular, with workers
able to sit, stand and interact for
brainstorming. " Many companies
are looking at healthy worker programs
and possibilities for taking
courses, she adds, and the ability
to access information from mobile
phones makes it more feasible to
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DECEMBER 2017
http://www.fluor.com http://www.praxair.com http://www.emerson http://www.rock http://www.wellautomation.com http://www.harborfreight.com http://www.tri-c.edu http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
Chemical Engineering December 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering December 2017
