The survival of our business depends on our ability to understand the needs of our customers and then make sure that our company is well positioned to meet those needs.
That’s just what the State Board of Education is doing by proposing higher standards in math for high school graduates starting in 2013. The board understands that its customers — the students of our state — need stronger skills in math to be competitive in the high tech global economy they’ll face when they leave the friendly halls of high school. The board’s proposal is an important step toward ensuring that these student needs are met.
Unfortunately and predictably, the board’s proposal is already drawing criticism. Some say we don’t have the resources to do the job. Others argue that not all kids are “college material” and don’t need advanced math skills.
Those arguments don’t reflect the reality of a rapidly changing world that isn’t going to wait for our schools to catch up.
Our company, Hobart Machined Products Inc., is a small firm. We provide design, precision machining and fabrication services to customers in the medical, defense, aerospace and space sectors. We’ve been around for more than four decades, so we’ve seen huge changes in the skills our employees need to have. We’ve survived because we’ve changed when necessary. And more often than not, we’ve had to figure out how to improve without spending a lot more money to do it.
These days our competitors are as likely to come from China or Korea as they are to be from California or Kentucky. It’s tough to compete with them on price. But we can be very competitive on the basis of quality, efficiency, innovation and service. These things matter when you’re talking about the safety of an airplane or functionality of a satellite. They matter when you’re talking about tooling tolerances of less than 0.0005 of an inch, or successfully melding metal and composite materials.
The only way we can deliver that type of quality is through the skills of our employees. They include technology specialists, certified and journeymen machinists, and engineers. Not all of these positions require a college education, but they all require advanced skills. In fact, I estimate that the skill level required to succeed in an entry-level position in our business has increased as much as three-fold over the past few years.
Technological advancements in machine tools and design software have raised the bar. The use of complex computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software programs and sophisticated machine tools make our facilities resemble computer labs more than traditional machine shops. In today’s manufacturing company, the skills of a machinist and those of a computer programmer have become one.
Those skills begin with a solid foundation in math, especially geometry and trigonometry. One of our current interns recently told me that he’d recommend high schoolers take pre-calculus to better prepare for the training needed for jobs in our industry.
Whatever the level, developing stronger math skills in high school means a smoother transition into technical or on-the-job training programs, community and technical colleges, and four-year universities. Failure to do so means remedial classes, extra expenses for students and taxpayers, increased student frustration, and a higher likelihood that the students will quit before completing their training.
We currently have open positions for machinists, machine technicians, quality control technicians, mechanical and design engineers, and computer programmers. These are good, family-wage jobs with good benefits. And they are going unfilled because too many of our young people lack the analytic and problem-solving skills needed to do the job — or even to train for the job. We invest heavily in mentoring and on-the-job training for our people, but we still need qualified applicants.
I recognize that not every student will be interested in working for a company like ours. But we are not unique in having a hard time finding qualified employees. Everywhere I go, I hear similar frustrations from other employers.
Today’s students are going to be working in an economy where the jobs that pay enough to support a family will require additional training beyond high school. The growing sectors of our economy are those driven by technological innovation. It provides a competitive edge, but requires highly skilled employees who can continue to learn and adapt.
The state board’s proposal needs public support. Not because companies like ours need educated and highly skilled workers. But because it is our obligation to prepare students to compete for family-wage jobs and be functioning, contributing members of society.
Rosemary Brester is president of Hobart Machined Products, Inc., and is co-chair of the Education and Training Committee of the Association of Washington Business and a member of the College Work Ready Agenda (www.collegeworkready.org).
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