The Machine Shop

The Problem

The biggest problem facing the machining industry today is a lack of qualified employees. Today, the average machinist is 55 years old. That means that there are as many machinists between 55 and retirement as there are 18 to 55. The problem will intensify within the next ten years as half of the current machinists will retire, along with their knowledge (and secrets). Todays shops have refused to train their young employees as machinists, claiming "We don't have the time or money to teach them. We've got jobs that got to go today." They put them to work as operators. Not trained to do set-ups, diagnose problems, or make tools and fixtures.

Many high schools and technical schools have eliminated their machine shops, mainly because guidance counselors have discouraged the trades with lines like "Computers will do all that in the future-take a computer class." The truth is, that without a good background and understanding of the tooling and the processes (not to mention those secrets) these young people will not excel. They will struggle to grasp the basics when they should be learning the shortcuts. Computers will not replace machinists. There will always be a need for prototypes and short run jobs that are not economical to run on a computer controlled machine. Also, it will be the machinist who is called when something doesn't work "like the book says".

Companies are very short sighted, thinking only of profits today, when they refuse to train machinists. True, the old guys can do the setups, and the young operators run them. What happens when the old guys are gone, and the operators don't know the answers? It's not only knowing what to do, it's why one way is better than the others. There is more than one way to do anything, but one way is always the best. It is through the apprenticeship program that this explanation of "Why this way is better than that way" knowledge is passed down. If you don't know why, you don't fully understand. Now we have to re-invent the wheel.

I see these young guys in the shops today, who are trained as operators, and think they are machinists. If only they knew how much they don't know. I know a man who works really hard to do a job that is simple. Once I told him, "You can work hard, or you can work smart!" His reply, "I have to work hard then." My only thought was....at least he's smart enough to realize it!