Overview

The training and education of today's workforce, whether salaried or hourly, is a major issue. Many organizations have aging workforces and the skills of those entering the workforce are below the standard that will be necessary to replace those who are exiting the workforce. Training, and in some cases retraining, is essential if the skills required to operate and maintain the high-tech equipment now being installed in plants and facilities are to be developed.

Consider the new technicians. It is hard to classify them. Are they white collar workers? Are they blue collar workers? They may actually become known as gold collar workers because they will be able to name the company they want to work for, what area of the country they want to work in, and what wage they want to work for. If this seems unrealistic, consider what it takes to hire a skilled electronics technician today. They are rare, and they will receive almost any wage they request because their skills are in high demand and there are relatively few available. The same is true of the mechanical technicians who understand the operating dynamics of their equipment.

The present rate of technology change is leaving some workforces falling behind in technical skills. It is estimated that the technical skills of those working in the plants today will be outdated within the next three-to-five years without retraining. Although this may seem too quick for some industries, there are others where the process technologies change so quickly...