By Mike Schmidt, AEM Director of Industry Communications —
When it comes to filling the workforce pipeline in the skilled trades, it’s becoming increasingly clear there just isn’t enough talent to go around these days.
As recently as just a few years ago, equipment manufacturers like AEM member company Ditch Witch relied on tried-and-true tactics to fill open positions, maintain production, and meet the ever-changing needs and demands of customers. Organizations looking to attract quality talent posted job advertisements, sat back and watched as applications rolled in, and selected the right person for the job. Unfortunately, what once worked so well for employers no longer gets the job done.
“The days of just putting an ad out to say you want somebody to join your organization are over,” said Randy Rupp, director of customer care at Ditch Witch, which offers underground and construction equipment sales, parts, and service and is based on Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. “You’ve got to go out there and actively recruit, and the best recruiting tool is to put your own people out there.”
The AEM Manufacturing Express, the largest public engagement in the association’s 130-year history, is proud to make a stop at Ditch Witch on Wednesday, Aug. 7. For more information and to follow along with the tour, visit manufacturingexpress.org.
The Value of SkillsUSA
Finding and leveraging opportunities to get in front of talent is a crucial component of any successful workforce development initiative. Doing so means putting model employees front and center at trade shows, public gatherings, and other events to tell the story of the industry and convey what it means to be a part of it. It also requires cultivating relationships and partnerships with best-in-class organizations to augment and enhance existing recruitment efforts. It’s why Ditch Witch has spent the last several years doing just that through its involvement with student workforce development organization SkillsUSA.
Around eight years ago, Rupp and several industry peers who represented various companies in the Distribution Contractors Association (DCA) found themselves experiencing a common workforce challenge: A growing shortage of qualified candidates to fill good-paying jobs within their respective organizations. However, the group came across SkillsUSA and decided its National Leadership and Skills Conference was the perfect opportunity to engage prospective employees and zero in on young talent.
The group organized a trip of contractors and manufacturers to SkillsUSA’s national conference (known as the largest gathering of America’s future skilled workforce), worked to establish a presence at the event, and tried to drum up conversation with attendees.
“What we found was an incredible group of bright, engaging high school kids,” said Rupp. “So, the next year, we decided to come back and bring an even bigger group. We brought people from human resources, marketing, engineering, and other departments. Not only did this allow us to recruit as a manufacturer, but it helped us build leads for our local dealerships. We’ve gone back every year since that first one, and we just continue to make things bigger and better.”
“With the wide range of skills SkillsUSA trains for, it’s potentially a huge talent pool for us to draw from. And the quality of young people involved is just so impressive.” -- Ditch Witch's Kevin Gragg
Enhancing Personal and Professional Skills
There’s simply no overstating SkillsUSA’s impact on the skilled trades. The organization represents just shy of 400,000 career and technical education students and teachers, all of whom participate in organizational chapters in middle schools, high schools, and in college/postsecondary institutions across the United States.
The organization’s mission and curriculum are driven by its SkillsUSA Framework of personal, workplace, and technical skills. The framework allows participating students to develop hands-on skills against industry standards in more than 130 occupational areas (such as welding and 3-D animation) and career-readiness skills to help drive personal and professional success. All told, the organization has served more than 14.6 million members since it was first established in 1965.
However, it’s SkillsUSA’s student competitions that truly set it apart from other organizations like it, as they offer an opportunity for the future leaders of the skilled trades to hone their talents at the local, regional, and state levels. According to the organization, the SkillsUSA Championships is “the national pinnacle of these competitions, where more than 6,000 state champions compete in well over 100 skilled and leadership events.” There’s also a global WorldSkills competition, held every two years by the WorldSkills organization, which brings together the best and brightest young professionals from over 80 countries to compete in a variety of skilled trades.
Building on Past Successes
Rupp said the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference remains a top priority for Ditch Witch from a recruiting perspective, but he emphasized the importance of getting involved at the state and local level in Oklahoma to the company’s workforce efforts.
“The young people we meet (at state and local events in Oklahoma) are really excited to go work for a company that’s in their home state,” Rupp continued. “I think we’ve done a really good job getting our name out there. We have young people that come back to our booth now every year, and we continue to expand.”
Ultimately, according to Rupp, the two primary benefits of engaging with SkillsUSA have been promotional exposure as a company and ample opportunities to show young people what it’s like to actually work in the industry.
“When you think of a manufacturer like General Motors, everyone knows what it does,” said Rupp. “Ditch Witch is a large company, but unless your family or friends are involved in the underground industry, people don’t know what we do, how sophisticated our equipment is, and how sophisticated our training materials are these days. That can be pretty eye-opening to young people exploring various career options.”
If one thing’s for certain, it’s that Ditch Witch is not about to rest on its laurels when it comes to attracting and developing its workforce of tomorrow. The company is looking to build off its past successes with SkillsUSA to bolster recruitment at its dealerships, and The Toro Company (Ditch Witch’s parent company) is continuing to invest more time, effort, and resources into the organization as well.
“With the wide range of skills SkillsUSA trains for, it’s potentially a huge talent pool for us to draw from,” said Kevin Gragg, senior instructional designer at Ditch Witch. “And the quality of young people involved is just so impressive. In most cases, they haven’t been assigned to participate in SkillsUSA. It’s something they’ve taken on themselves because they want to learn and get better.”
“The days of just putting an ad out to say you want somebody to join your organization are over. You’ve got to go out there and actively recruit." -- Ditch Witch's Randy Rupp
Starting Small and Working Up
For organizations looking to develop a relationship with SkillsUSA and make the most out of their workforce development efforts, Rupp and Gragg recommend starting at the local, regional, and state level to gain traction and start making connections.
“It’s not only good from an exposure standpoint, but you can also influence and guide technical education in your area. If you need people with a certain skill or certain set of skills, SkillsUSA can help work it into the educational curriculum. And what that means for you as an organization is your getting valuable employees from day one. A strong partnership quite simply helps you get better employees, and that’s something all of us in the industry are looking for today,” said Rupp.
“There’s just not enough of these young people for us fill open positions, let alone secure the best of the best,” added Gragg. “That’s why you’ve got to get out there in front of it.”
AEM is proud to support SkillsUSA and its efforts to develop the skilled trades workforce of tomorrow. For more information, visit skillsUSA.org.
For more AEM member perspectives, subscribe to the AEM Industry Advisor.
