WorldWide Drilling Resource

Addressing the Skilled Labor Shortage by Investing in the Future Compiled by Bonnie Love, Editor, WorldWide Drilling Resource ® As the nation’s baby boomer generation retires, finding skilled laborers to fill the positions they leave behind has become a big challenge. Although new technologies have changed the face of skills-based jobs, the education system hasn’t quite caught up. In fact, a recent study by Manpower Group showed nearly 30% of employers can’t fill jobs because of the lack of applicants, while another 20% say applicants lack the necessary experience. Developing the skills and talent of future em- ployees must include education strategies which combine classroom education with hands-on experience and companies are realizing the importance of investing in the education of potential employees. Indiana-based Cummins Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services diesel engines for the heavy equipment, construction, mining, gas and oil, as well as several other industries. The com- pany is taking a proactive approach to employee recruitment by teaming up with Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) to train stu- dents how to be service technicians. Students also have the op- portunity to earn an associate of applied science degree through Cummins’ Technician Apprentice Program (TAP) at SLCC’s Westpointe Workforce Training & Education Center. TAP is a partnership of industry and higher education which assists apprenticeship students with training. The two-year pro- gram provides training across a variety of diesel platforms and technologies. In addition to free tuition and course credits which can transfer to a four-year degree, apprentice students also re- ceive full-time employment where they work with, and learn from, certified Cummins technicians while earning a paycheck. SLCC is one of three institutions in the United States that host the program which began in 2012, and witnessed its first grad- uates in 2015. The goal is to have more than 500 apprentices at six colleges in the U.S. and at least two in Canada, ready to join the Cummins Team by the end of 2020. “Salt Lake Community College is thrilled to enter into this very important partnership with Cummins International,” said Dr. Eric Heiser, SLCC Dean of the School of Applied Technology & Professional Development. “This is just one more way we can help to address the nationwide shortage of diesel mechanics while partnering with one of the most well-known and respected brands in the diesel industry. We are grateful for the confidence that Cummins has shown in us to be able to deliver quality diesel technician training to their apprentices.” Cummins is celebrating its 100-year anniversary and looking forward to con- tinued success with the program. Jenny Bush, execut i ve d i rec tor of Nor th America distribution for the company said, “Throughout our 100 years, we have spent time and energy investing in our people, and those people are the lifeblood of our company and the lifeblood of our business. Without employees like our technicians here, we would not be where we are standing a hundred years later. As I think about our legacy and our heritage, everything we stand for sits in this room. I’m thrilled we’re able to con- tinue that legacy as we get into our next hundred years.” Providing our education system with the tools necessary to provide tech- nological training for skills-based posi- tions is an important step in keeping employee pipelines filled with qualified candidates. 23 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® APRIL 2019 Representatives from Cummins and SLCC at the ribbon cutting for the diesel lab at Westpointe. Photo courtesy of SLCC. C&G