Training Welders in Advanced Manufacturing Philosophies Nets Employability
As of September 2010, the U.S. manufacturing sector grew for the 14th consecutive month, leading some economists to speculate that, as with the Great Depression, American manufacturing will lead the economy out of the recession. It’s a little bit of good news in a long stream of depressing employment reports. Career and technical educators contribute to the growth of this sector by training career-ready graduates for increasingly high-skilled manufacturing jobs. However, skills aren’t the only important aspect of career-readiness— so are work philosophies, like a commitment to continuous improvement. Great plant managers do not issue dictates from the office suite. Instead, they include everyone involved in production in discussions about process improvement. Training career and technical education (CTE) graduates in how to contribute to these discussions will make them more employable. This article relates how one manufacturer, Dant Clayton Corporation in Louisville, Kentucky, applied lean manufacturing philosophies to its welding shop, and describes how educators might incorporate lean philosophies into instruction in all skill areas.
Wilson, K. (2011). Training welders in advanced manufacturing philosophies nets employability, Techniques, 86(2), 32-35.