Job Search for the Displaced Manufacturing Employee

Last week I presented 24 hours of job search training to a number of displaced manufacturing employees. Their company plant was closing after 57 years in the same location in the community. While we were tucked in a tiny conference room, outside in the plant, teams of people in hard hats were pulling out the equipment meant to go back to the home office and destroying other, obsolete pieces. The smoke was in the air and our eyes were tearing as we plowed through the material. It was an odd scenario for me and judging by the heavy hearts in the room, it was painful for the group.

After ending that training on Thursday, I rushed back into the holiday mode; I still had shopping to do and baking to finish. Christmas came and went and through it all those 39 men and one woman remained with me. I thought about the uncertainty that they must have carried throughout the holiday.

Manufacturing is one of those industries that have become obsolete. A statistic from the Occupational Outlook handbook said that between now and 2018, manufacturing positions will decline 13%. It also said that as workers adapt to team-oriented production methods, those who can operate multiple machines will have the best opportunities for advancement and for gaining jobs with more long-term potential. In other words - the odds aren’t very good unless you sharpen your skill set. Gone are the days when someone with a limited education or a specialized skill can make a decent living running a machine or making a part.

Of the 40 people, I sensed that only a handful was seriously considering other career options. Maybe it was denial or anger or maybe it hadn’t hit them on the side of the head yet. It will though. I urged them to do the following:

1. Set up a game plan with goals and dates.
2. Assess their career values, motives, skills and transferable job skills.
3. Take advantage of the free career assessments offered.
4. Find and use grants or low cost training/retaining.
5. Network with one another and with other networking groups (such as the Professional Service Group via the Unemployment Office).

To quote Henry Ford, "It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste." There is no time to waste; at least not in manufacturing.