How do you effectively prepare high school students for the manufacturing jobs of today and tomorrow? If you’re Chardon High School career and technical education (CTE) instructors Tracey Britt and Kim Butala, you partner with Amatrol and Buckeye Educational Systems to create what Taneisha Cordell from ABC News 5 Cleveland calls “a technology playground.” According
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, employers in every sector experienced a phenomenon that manufacturers had been dealing with for many years: a shortage of skilled workers. Most people vividly remember “CLOSED” signs adorning windows due to staffing shortages. While we’re a ways past the pandemic now, many businesses continue to experience skilled labor
As the global economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, manufacturers all over the world are still struggling to fill hundreds of thousands of open positions. Despite their best efforts, manufacturers face a shortage of highly-skilled workers to meet their increasing demand. The skilled labor shortage isn’t the only challenge facing manufacturers, though. Global
Have you ever changed the oil in your vehicle? Some people enjoy performing their own routine maintenance, while others prefer to take their vehicle to the dealership or a quick lube place over their lunch hour. If you’ve never changed the oil in your vehicle, why not? It’s a fairly simple and straightforward procedure. Remove
Recent employment statistics reveal that the U.S. economy has largely returned to pre-pandemic levels, although significant challenges remain. In particular, the manufacturing sector continues to experience problems finding enough highly-skilled workers to fill hundreds of thousands of open positions. How can manufacturers compete for workers in an increasingly-crowded labor market? A recent study by Harvard
The bell rings and you look up from your notes at a sea of curious, eager faces. Ready or not, it’s time to teach your first basic electrical class. These students are depending on you. You’re a journeyman electrician with years of experience. Yet, you feel somewhat unprepared to transfer your accumulated knowledge and experience
In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, every industry around the globe has struggled at times to find enough qualified workers to fill open positions. For some sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, this struggle has been ongoing since long before the pandemic began. We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but guess
*This article is part 4 of 5 In the previous article in this series, we focused on why Industry 4.0 skills are a critical part of a modern HVACR training program. With a wide range of new advanced automation technologies being used in modern HVACR systems, the HVACR technicians of today and tomorrow need advanced
“The robots are coming! The robots are coming!” If there were a cry to herald the start of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it might indeed echo the famous warning often attributed to Paul Revere. Just replace the British with robots and you get the idea. As Industry 4.0 technologies take hold in the modern manufacturing
Virtual simulator is a common term used to define everything from aircraft flight simulators to interactive games. In manufacturing training, virtual simulators refer to interactive software that closely mimics the operation of machines, tools, or systems. They imitate their real-world counterparts to such a close degree that they allow the transfer of real-world skills. While
Major federal legislation coupled with recent industrial trends point to the potential for a resurgence of growth in the United States’ manufacturing sector. In particular, this growth centers on those embracing smart technology, or what has become known as Industry 4.0. The decade leading up to the COVID-19 crisis (2010-2019) saw 1.3 million manufacturing jobs
When separating from the U.S. military, a primary factor in a soldier’s successful transition back to civilian life is stability. This stability can come from multiple places, such as having supportive friends and family and a place to live once their service is over, but ultimately, a key component to establishing this stability is finding
