Manufacturing Meet Apprenticeships but Thesolutionmay Liein New Isquick Technology Automation Is Supposed Donald A.Promnitz $1.25 PER COPY David Castellon
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www.thebusinessjournal.com UPDATED DAILY MARCH 2, 2018 thebusinessjournal.com the FOCUS | 8 Apprenticeships meet manufacturing Media & Marketing Pitching for investors while Community colleges push for still in high school employers to ‘upskill’ workers the EXECUTIVE PROFILE | 9 David Castellon - STAFF WRITER Automation is supposed Dan Sousa and Gurminder to make things faster and Singh of the Fresno-based easier for manufacturers, State Center Community but that doesn’t seem to be College District were at last the case when it comes to week’s Food Processing Expo hiring. in Sacramento trying to con- New technology is quick- vince exhibitors and em- ly being incorporated into ployers how apprenticeships plants in the Valley, whether could help them fill their they process chopped fruit manufacturing jobs. Jeff Yribarren or retread tires, and manu- “I’m here to address train- facturers here are having ing. I know a lot of employers Owner trouble hiring people with are looking for maintenance Yribarren Family Vineyards the technical skills needed mechanics, maintenance to work with technology. technicians, instrument But the solution may lie in techs, electricians. There’s the LIST | 10 a training method that dates a shortage of them, so we’re FRESNO BUSINESS COUNCIL | A student at Madera Community College Center practices back centuries — appren- Provost & Pritchard tops using a Computer Numerical Control mill, which can be used to make mechanical parts. Valley the Engineering Firms list ticeships, but with a mod- manufacturers say they’re having troubling hiring and holding onto skilled and semi-skilled | workers who can work some of the new, more complicated machines being used in factories and ern twist. Manufacturing 2 warehouses here. This Week Online 6 AfterHours 14 People on the Move 15 Energy costs, hiring and Community Regional Leads 15-16 Public Notices 17-25 social media concern unveils two new buildings Opinion 26 food processors PHOTO BY DONALD A. PROMNITZ | The new 1,000-plus-unit parking garage at Community Regional Medical Center cost $33 million. DAVID CASTELLON | Attendees at last week’s Food Processing Expo in Sacramento got to examine samples of canned and packaged foods ranging from olives to tomato paste made Donald A. Promnitz – STAFF WRITER by the manufacturers at the event. David Castellon - STAFF WRITER the estimated 2,500 attendees A pair of buildings are now free charging stalls for electric at the Sacramento Convention open on the Community Re- vehicles and 25 handicap spots. Center buzzing about a particu- gional Medical Center campus. A secured 74-bicycle storage ve- SACRAMENTO – If there was lar industry issue. The buildings include a new, hicle will be available as well. one overriding theme for this But to a smaller degree, there 477,000-square foot parking The other structure is a new year’s annual Food Processing were important issues the at- garage at Clark and Divisadero medical office building. The Expo, it was the lack of an over- tendees were looking to address streets. The structure, intended 5-story, 180,000-square foot riding theme. with the latest technology and for employees, will feature 1,056 building is located in the North No new piece of technology services on display here during regular vehicle stalls and spaces Medical Plaza at 215 N. Fresno St. had crowds of people flocking to for 359 compact and 116 clean one or two of the 272 exhibitor air vehicles. There will also be 23 booths here, nor were most of Food Processing | 3 CRMC | 5 SENSITIVE TIME PRIORITY HANDLING PERIODICAL: FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018 ISSUE # 325358 | $1.25 PER COPY USPS 145-100 2 www.thebusinessjournal.com FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018 it’s hard to get somebody with qualifi- Manufacturing | from 1 cations in those areas.” Part of the problem is finding some- here to help meet their needs … in the body with the right temperament who manufacturing and food processing can learn how to run the machine and industry,” said Sousa, whose commu- has an interest in staying in Tulare, as nity college district includes Reedley some former employees left after they College, Fresno City College, Madera were trained on the CNC machine to Community College Center, Oakhurst get better-paying jobs in Fresno, Mill- Community College Center and Clovis er said. Community College. She said she sees advantages for re- “My thing is, I’d like to see them cruiting within a business for an ap- invest in up scaling who they have” prentice program, as bosses can look already working for them, Sousa ex- for solid workers and gauge their apti- plained. “If somebody’s pushing a tude for the new jobs while also seek- broom or doing a lower-level task on ing those with strong local ties that the job site, why not invest in them?” make them less likely to leave once Instead of offering traditional ap- they learn their new job skills. prenticeships, in which employees But they do need some aptitude for work for years under the guidance of the new skills needed to work with the skilled craftsmen to learn their trades, new technology, noted Singh, deputy the new model involves working with sector navigator for advanced manu- community colleges that usually offer facturing in the Central Valley region the sorts of training needed in most for the SCCCD. manufacturing environments in the “Our desire as faculty is that stu- Valley, he said. dents come in with a higher skillset so “Any of our community colleges we can take it to the next level,” he ex- have the programs. Most of our em- plained. “Today’s mechanics jobs are ployers in the manufacturing and highly skilled as compared to 20 years food-processing industries have those ago. A lot of automation is going on, kinds of programs to upscale their however, that doesn’t mean we aren’t people” available at their local com- requiring mechanical aptitude. We munity colleges,” Sousa said. still are requiring what we required “So they make it a full-on, registered 20 years ago, but you need much more [apprentice] program with the state than that. of California. Tuition gets waived, so Singh said in the last four years the the costs are minimal” as the students system has developed more than 22 or their employers have to lay only programs in the advanced manufac- BANK LOCAL for text books, lab fees, parking, etc., turing sector — including many in me- he said. “And I have some programs chatronics, or the computer language Keep Your Money Close to Home where the employers have their em- robotic systems use to communicate ployees go to school while they’re be- with each other in factories and ware- ing paid on the job site or allow them houses. • We offer the same products and services as to go to school after they punch out The demand for skilled labor in the sector continues to grow. your big bank [of work].” While apprenticeship through the “We love it. It’s definitely much needed. We have a lot of highly-skilled • Your deposit dollars are put to work right here, community college system is nothing new — as Fresno City College has had manufacturing jobs we can’t fill,” said helping grow our local economy such a program for the last 40 years — William Broomfield, director of en- Sousa said the new push to get more gagement for the San Joaquin Valley • Lending decisions are made locally, by people manufacturers involved is being driv- Manufacturing Alliance. who live locally and understand local business en by several factors, including that Another advantage of upskilling “people are realizing more and more existing employees is that advancing • Like you, we are 100% committed to ensuring a that they can’t find all the qualified them into better-skilled and better- sustainable and prosperous future for our personnel they need” and both state paying jobs opens up their old jobs for less-skilled workers. community and federal agencies are putting a lot of funding into apprentice programs. His group also is working on pro- Part of the reason is a large number moting interest in manufacturing of people in the manufacturing sec- jobs, which includes working with At Suncrest Bank, we think banking local is a tor are hitting retirement age, leaving high schools and community colleges pretty smart choice, and one you can take pride in. behind skilled and semi-skilled jobs to build up awareness of the job-train- that are harder to fill than non-skilled ing programs available in the Valley. jobs. Broomfield noted that in the fall Then there’s the new technology semester, Clovis Community College coming into factories and warehouses will be the first Valley community that doesn’t require a college degree college teaching mechatronics, and to run and oversee, but does require this summer the alliance will sponsor skills beyond those of unskilled labor- 30 high school and community col- ers. lege instructors in welding, machine “I find here in Tulare County, it’s maintenance and machinist skills for hard to get people with really good two-week “externships” in which they skills and [want to] work here. They will work at Valley manufacturing want to go to Fresno and make more plants with the latest technology to money,” said Rebecca Miller, human educate them on what’s coming. Starting this summer, the alliance Fresno Branch resources manager for Fisher Manu- www.suncrestbank.com facturing Co., Inc. in Tulare, which also will sponsor a group of 10- to 663 West Nees Ave. makes commercial plumbing fixtures. 24-year-olds from Fresno County (559) 225-1700 (888) 844-1011 She said her company has had trou- high schools and community col- ble finding and holding onto people leges to each work 76 paid hours at to operate the business’ Computer local manufacturing sites, “So hope- Kingsburg Branch Porterville Branch Visalia Branch Yuba City Branch Numerical Control machine, which fully, when they transition to com- 1580 Draper St.