The U.S. Navy has seen its ship production drop to a 25-year low, falling behind Chinese production even as the service faces increasingly complex threats around the world.
Getting more manufacturing back in the US, becoming more self sufficient, and having dignified employment are all my goals as a progressive too, and I’m really happy there’s movement from the current administration in their areas (despite complaints in other areas)
(I used all Whitehouse links as a from-the-horses mouth source, but there are plenty of articles about each)
I fully agree, companies whine and complain that they can’t find any skilled labor without ever acknowledging that it’s their job to train and take risks on the newbies. Instead they just want the perfect candidate for their specialized position to be gift wrapped and at “market rate” and desperate enough to go through multiple interview stages.
Even in my job, I’ve asked over and over for them to hire a junior/apprentice that I can train up from the beginning on our complex system and work, but they just want to hire short term contractors instead. We end spending the same amount of time training them as a junior, but then 6-12 months later when their contract is up, they go off somewhere else and we have to do it all over again and never build on our foundations.
I was hired as a contractor, and stuck through until I was an employee, and I’m now 5 years in, but it was not easy. It was essentially a two year paid interview.
And most don’t make it that way. If I was hired as a real employee as a junior, and able to train my way up with the masters of my company, who knows where I’d be and how not-delayed and not-over-budget our project would be.
When I talk to business about it, they moan how employees and contractors come from different budgets and the stock market favors contractors so their hands are tied, and I call bullshit on that. It’s bad business and the solution is obvious - train up the workforce you want to have.
It’s like buying a good pair of boots once, or buying cheap boots every year.
When I talk to business about it, they moan how employees and contractors come from different budgets and the stock market favors contractors so their hands are tied, and I call bullshit on that. It’s bad business and the solution is obvious - train up the workforce you want to have.
Agreed. Very few companies invest in their employees now day and that is the problem.
I can’t think of the company right now, but it was in the early 2000s. They needed more programmers, so anyone interested could take the aptitude test. If they passed, they were sent to a boot camp; if they passed that, they got to take college courses while working as entry-level programmers.
I have not seen any programs like that in a very long time.
To reach across the divide for a handshake:
This is something Biden and many progressives have been pushing for,
Free community college/trade schools: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/06/21/readout-of-white-house-meeting-on-expanding-access-to-free-community-college/
Advanced manufacturing training and jobs in the US: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/01/23/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-highlights-new-commitments-toward-equitable-workforce-development-in-advanced-manufacturing/
And even pushing paid apprenticeships: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/03/06/fact-sheet-president-biden-signs-executive-order-scaling-and-expanding-the-use-of-registered-apprenticeships-in-industries-and-the-federal-government-and-promoting-labor-management-forums/
And specifically in shipbuilding and getting the workforce where it needs, both in private ships and the military, the admin is moving in the right direction, opening new shipbuilding yards, getting people to train up, and putting in ship orders https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/07/29/fact-sheet-white-house-announces-new-private-sector-investments-in-american-maritime-industries-due-to-biden-harris-administration-efforts/
Getting more manufacturing back in the US, becoming more self sufficient, and having dignified employment are all my goals as a progressive too, and I’m really happy there’s movement from the current administration in their areas (despite complaints in other areas)
(I used all Whitehouse links as a from-the-horses mouth source, but there are plenty of articles about each)
In the old days, companies used to provide all of these as benefits.
IBM used to take high school graduates, let them work for a few years, and then pay them to go to college and pay for their tuition.
IBM was not unique, my friend did something similar for Honeywell. They paid him to get his master’s degree and paid for the degree.
Companies wonder why employees don’t have loyalty and the answer is simple, they are not the same companies they used to be.
JD Vance has said we need to focus more on fighting companies. I wish they would focus more on his views and the voting base would agree with them.
https://time.com/6999104/jd-vance-trump-business-community-separation/
I fully agree, companies whine and complain that they can’t find any skilled labor without ever acknowledging that it’s their job to train and take risks on the newbies. Instead they just want the perfect candidate for their specialized position to be gift wrapped and at “market rate” and desperate enough to go through multiple interview stages.
Even in my job, I’ve asked over and over for them to hire a junior/apprentice that I can train up from the beginning on our complex system and work, but they just want to hire short term contractors instead. We end spending the same amount of time training them as a junior, but then 6-12 months later when their contract is up, they go off somewhere else and we have to do it all over again and never build on our foundations.
I was hired as a contractor, and stuck through until I was an employee, and I’m now 5 years in, but it was not easy. It was essentially a two year paid interview.
And most don’t make it that way. If I was hired as a real employee as a junior, and able to train my way up with the masters of my company, who knows where I’d be and how not-delayed and not-over-budget our project would be.
When I talk to business about it, they moan how employees and contractors come from different budgets and the stock market favors contractors so their hands are tied, and I call bullshit on that. It’s bad business and the solution is obvious - train up the workforce you want to have.
It’s like buying a good pair of boots once, or buying cheap boots every year.
Agreed. Very few companies invest in their employees now day and that is the problem.
I can’t think of the company right now, but it was in the early 2000s. They needed more programmers, so anyone interested could take the aptitude test. If they passed, they were sent to a boot camp; if they passed that, they got to take college courses while working as entry-level programmers.
I have not seen any programs like that in a very long time.