One Voice | Government Advocacy for the Metalworking Industry

When Phyllis Miller worked as a human resources manager at Hamill Manufacturing Co. she would get close to 200 applications for an engineering position and only about three for machinist position.

To address that skills gap that she sees continuing to grow, Miller took part in Friday’s annual Apprentice Manufacturing competition hosted at New Century Careers Training Innovation Center in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood.

The event features a written exam and two four-hour segments of competition— one for manual lathe and one for the manual mill. Six apprentices in their final year of training gathered to see who could interpret the blueprints and produce the most featured parts as possible within the time provided.

Recent warnings illustrate that the next ten years may leave over two million manufacturing jobs open, and Miller said that gap is due to a disconnect between schools, guidance counselors and parents who don’t realize the stable and profitable jobs available in the manufacturing industry today.

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