BANGOR, Maine — Maine’s manufacturers need access to a more skilled workforce and to reverse the perception that manufacturing is a dying industry, according to Jamie Arsenault, general manager of Howard Tool Co. in Bangor.
That was the message Arsenault communicated to Rep. Mike Michaud, who toured the company’s facility on Odlin Road on Tuesday afternoon. It was an early stop for Michaud on what’s expected to be a weeklong tour of Maine manufacturers.
Howard Tool has a problem finding well-qualified employees, and the loss of training programs for skilled machinists hasn’t helped, Arsenault said. Two years ago the company hired a few graduates of the machinist program at Eastern Maine Community College, but the program has since been eliminated, Arsenault said. The Bangor region has lost all its general machinist training in the last five years, said Tracy Laverdiere, Howard Tool’s production manager.
Michaud, who last year helped Howard Tool secure a $25,000 grant through the New England Trade Adjustment Assistance Center to improve its efficiency, expects he’ll hear more about workforce training needs during the rest of his tour. He’s scheduled to tour B&B Precise Products in Benton on Wednesday morning, followed by Lewiston’s Allen Manufacturing and several other manufacturers in Lewiston and Auburn on Thursday. “I’m sure by the end of the week we’ll be hearing it again,” Michaud said, referring to the concern for the lack of a skilled workforce.
Marty Arsenault, Jamie’s father, founded Howard Tool in 1985 and began by manufacturing precision parts for machines used in the shoe industry, then other parts as industries have come and gone. Today Howard Tool employs 14 people and does between $1 million and $3 million in sales a year manufacturing precision parts for the defense industry. But most people have never heard of Howard Tool, said Marty Arsenault. “We don’t advertise,” he said. “We’re not out in the public eye at all.”
In a sense, manufacturers have created their own problems, Marty Arsenault said. “We’re our own worst enemy. When things get slow, what do we do? First thing we do is lay our people off, which is the worst thing in the world to do because then you lose them, then they don’t want to come back,” he said. “Then it just snowballs because then mom hears about all the layoffs at Lemforder and Lemforder is leaving, so she’s not going to have her son go into manufacturing, no sir. He’s going to go to a four-year school.”
As a result, it’s hard for manufacturers to hire the skilled workers it needs, Marty Arsenault said.
But Marty Arsenault believes the industry can create its own solutions as well. It will require companies to provide their own training and to automate “heavily,” he said. As for how to fund those solutions, he said it would need to be done however is possible, internally if need be. “We just have to be able to do better with less,” he said. “Like everybody else.”
It takes more than a few courses in a Trade School to produce a Journeyman. As far as I know, Maine doesn’t even have a structured Apprenticeship program in place. Machinist in the real world is a 3 year apprenticeship with on-the- job training with a qualified journeyman alone with supporting college courses. I can’t envision LePage jumping up and down to cough up the money to back such a program.
Apprenticeship programs ???
Weren’t those a a damned Union thing ?
Right to work laws make training and keeping your workers the company’s business.
That kind of thinking is why businesses don’t come to Maine! Apprenticeship programs have nothing to do with unions! Apprenticeships are much older than this country and the only proven way to train skilled tradesmen. If you knew anything about Right to work laws, you would know they have nothing to do with training. Sounds like you don’t know much about skilled trades either.
‘That kind of thinking’… is the reality, since Millinoket was build as a company town.
“it is why businesses don’t come to Maine!
Apprenticeship programs have nothing to do with unions! ‘
Yeah, apprentices were once indentured for seven years, too. It was during the fruedal age.
So were Stott-Irish cane cutters and cotton pickers, before the plantation owners figured out African slaves were the better investment, like Communist China is today.Oh, so who is to run the program to train American skilled labor, if not traditionally like The Unions, in your brave new conservative world, your new Big less big government world ?
Actually, there are apprenticeship programs in 45 states. They are overseen by the U.S. Dept of Labor. Maybe you should look up the definition of conservative too.
It should also be noted that the military contributes to these program’s thru their Advanced and Technical Training School’s at such places as Aberdeen in Maryland, Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas and the Sub Base’s in Groton / New London, San Diego, Bremerton/Bangor (in Washington State) and Ft Leonard Wood in Missouri among other’s. A great many of these technical training program’s were and are used by both the military and the various civilian employer’s as a basis for employment and training, diesel and heavy equipment repair being the most needed. Ask the National Guard unit’s that went to Iraq how they would have functioned if they didn’t have those maintenance unit’s close at hand. In Maine, the 126th Air Ambulance is a major troop morale multiplier since the injured, both here and in Afghanistan, know that medevac is always on-call. You think it’s easy to train people to work on a Blackhawk ? Where are they gonna get that type training that is also useful here in civilian life ?
Maine will never be considered business friendly. A recent account of states who are business friendly had Maine at or near the bottom. Years of Government suppression and regulation will take years to reverse. The only thing were #1 at is providing welfare to big fat lazy couch potatos.
I had many friends who tried to get into union apprentice programs, they had zero chance because their father or uncle wasn’t already a member. Unions are crooked and we will be much better off without them. Look at how poorly kids are educated in public schools, they have been under union control forever.
Mapleton, as much as this may shock you, I agree with you. There are entirely too many of these Apprentice Program’s that are out there that are literally starving for applicant’s but are being starved by Big Union’s because of obsolete and just plain old stupidity. Local Union’s know, if they have the gut’s to look objectively, that they need a constant stream of Apprentice’s to keep these program’s both running for current needs but to also keep up with the inevitable of Master Tradesmen retiring as well as business expansion and the various Trade’s technology evolving. But it also requires that Construction and Service Company’s provide a dedicated hiring base for these same Apprentice’s to go to work for once they get into the Program. That means that both sides need to quit ‘spitballing’ each other and work together to get the Construction, and Service Trade’s, back together and getting Mainer’s back to work. It also means that the State and National Union Head’s work with the Local’s, not dictate to them, toward getting better agreement’s for safety, training, Apprenticeship Advancement and Trades expansion as the Trade or service changes and adapts, in their various workplace’s. That means that both sides need toput both their mouth and their ego into the deep freeze for the duration. They don’t and it only gets worse. Anyone wanna role those dice ?
And for what it’s worth, I was a AFL-CIO Local Steward, Chief Stew’ and VP for a long time. I’ve seen both side’s of the coin. It’s only when the side’s meet in the middle does anything get done. That time is now, not next week, month or year. Procrastination used for politics is moosepoop. Maine’s had enough. It’s time to get moving forward since we know going back is not where we need to be !
It’s not an “either/or” equation: It’s too simple to say manufacturing is either “living” or “dead”. The fact is, manufacturing has reached maturity (quite a while ago) and is now in it’s natural state of decline. All manufacturing will never completely disappear, but it’s foolish to think it will ever thrive again. Also Howard Tool appears to be feeding from the government trough as part of the Military Industrial Complex. It’s not fair to suggest this company would even be in existence without this corporate welfare.
Manufacturing in the US has certainly declined, but small machine shops like Howard Tool will always be needed and a good machinist can earn a good living. Marty doesn’t know me personally, but we did work for the same company at one time. He left and started a business, as an entrepreneur, and did well by most accounts. Be that as it may, he, or his son, is correct in saying that the loss of available machinist training in this area detracts from our ability to preserve manufacturing jobs. I did not realize EMCC had done away with its machinist curriculum. That’s a shame; it is a good profession. I’d like to hear from someone at GE in Bangor to get their input…
being paid to provide a service or produce a product for the government is not corporate welfare, you dolt.
Yes, it is when you make $500 toilet seats, or whatever, cost plus.
Or when your corporate CEO was SECDEF, then appointed himself V.P. and puppet master.
I don’t see where DaffyJaffy said anything about corporate welfare. There are a number of small businesses that rely heavily on government business (both contracted and non-contracted). It’s all good as long as the money continues to flow, but risky to put all your eggs in one basket.
As part of the Military Industrial Complex, Howard tool exists entirely outside of normal market forces completely dependent on government money (our tax dollars). Being that the vast majority of military spending is unnecessary, how on earth is this NOT corporate welfare?
In a way we are paying the price, now, because no one bombed the the the Great Lake States and the Ohio Valley in the 1940’s.
This country was built and sustained by manufacturing and the workers who powered it. There’s something wrong and unsustainable about a society that doesn’t produce. A srvice society is like passing an apple around with everyone taking a bite. Sooner or later you’re going to need a new apple.
Best post on here.
I been looking for an appropriate metaphor, now I have one! Thanks!
The apples are all built in China. We have free trade to thank for that.
If Maine companies will pay a salary that people can live on they will choose to go to school on their own with out the Government having to pay for any schooling, it should not be up to the Government and us tax payers to support someones job training. If the jobs are there people will take time to aquire the skills. Otherwise they will do what I did and take a job out of state because Maine companies do not pay.
I take it from this guess article that Labor Day has passed.
Machinist’s positions pay as well or better than most professional careers at this time, and there are good jobs to be had; they won’t have to let their 4 year degree rot. Don’t know about you, but I think a degree unused devalues quicker than a Cadillac… let kids know they don’t have to be a lawyer or architect to make a living…
Let’s start by shutting down social worker degree programs in all Maine Universities.
please explain how Maine company’s can compete when deep water ports are denied because of some exotic grass the Dems had to save.How can we compete when private company’s want to put in a billion dollar highway to ship goods in and out of Maine is compared to the Berlin wall.We have only a little over a million people in Maine.We need this infrastructure to grow.Changes are coming slow because we had an entitlement attitude inAugusta for the past thirty years.Thanks to Mr Lepage against great odds from Dems and entitlements, hopefully he succeeds
The highway we don’t need since it’s only user is going to be the Canadian trucking company’s and they aren’t putting up any of the money but expecting Maine to finance, and that’s what eminent domian is all about, it, and then turn control of it over to Cianbro, who’s going to use it to feed their balance sheet, not help Maine grow. Maine’s port’s are lacking only in product and the about to go into operation of the Millinocket bio-coal plant is going to go a long way toward Eastport, and other’s eventually, going back into full operation. The same can be said of the Eastern Maine Rail system now that they are expanding and hiring for engineer’s and the like. What we are all missing, and looking for, is what progress has been made on the Brunswick / Bombardier project ? Having Bombardier here in Maine, in Brunswick building A 320 and 330 series airliner’s and sub-assembly’s, and north up toward Bangor and beyond, in building both cargo rail and commuter traffic rail car’s, is still to be seen. One would hope that the Director of the DECD would be able to answer these question’s once he gets back from China where he’s with LePage right now.
Companies providing training for skilled workers…..what a novel idea
What also creates problems are the fact that educational and training discrimination occurs. Far too many Company’s, and even Government Agency’s, use what they consider ‘their standard’s as to just what qualify’s as education and training for either a position or employment. How many people take the time to get the education and training for a position, that matches the position’s criteria exactly, and then are told that their education and training isin’t qualifying since they weren’t trained ‘ by us to our standard’s’. Please, what drivvell ! Training is training and the fact that the person took the time to get it is a serious indicator of just how qualifed they are, and are likely to perform in that position. This using subjective, and frequently personal standard’s, is a employment discrimination lawsuit just waiting to happen.
When Maine companies pay crap that is the kind of work force they get. Most of the educated talented young Mainers had to leave the state, to find a living wage somewhere else.
I think part of the problem facing Maine manufacturers is competeing with other manufacturers in other states that pay much higher wages and benefits. How are they going to lure people to stay in Maine once they find that their skills pay a lot more elsewhere.
We read below that “When Maine companies pay crap that is the kind of work force they get. Most of the educated talented young Mainers had to leave the state, to find a living wage somewhere else.”
My wife taught in Maine. Her college buddy who taught the same classes in Connecticut was paid about twice as much as my wife. — And even got a pension when she retired. True, on the down side, my wife’s friend had to live in Connecticut.
A teacher friend of mine in the Portland area, who was assigned student teachers, felt obligated to explain the Maine pension system to the students at the end of their tenure and pointed out that if they wanted to earn a decent living or ever wanted to retire, they should perhaps consider working in another state.
While riding from the airport to a speaking engagement in a mid-western state, my young taxi driver told me he was going to be a teacher. When I said he must be dedicated to work for peanuts he told me what teachers in his state earned — about twice what they get here in Maine.
In recent years when I have had the pleasure of working with classes of young people, I have suggested that they spend a summer backpacking with their peers in Northern Europe. They might discover the summer homes, healthcare, educational systems, working conditions, salaries and pension systems in Norway or Holland or Finland to their liking and decide to set up shop there.
I can’t speak for you, but not only my father but all of my ancestors came here from Northern Europe to find a better life.
Now that the economic situation has turned 180 degrees, I would encourage young people to do the same thing my ancestors did and “find a living wage somewhere else.”
The humble Farmer
Pre-WWII my Father became a drafting apprentice at Electric Boat. It was a 5 year program and it took skilled but not trained high school grads and trained them from ground zero. Subsequently Dad was active in nuclear piping design and GPS systems testing – all with no college degree, just on the job training.
Now, high schools are focused on training everybody to head for college. Employers refuse to step up to the plate and offer comprehensive training programs, instead expecting young people to take on tens of thousands in debt to be trained to work for them. If an employer needs individuals with certain skills and training, let them take the initiative and offer on the job training programs so that when people are fully trained in the job they are not burdened with a mountain of debt. The employer gets exactly the employee skills they need and the trainee has a quality job without a lifetime of payments – a win-win for all.
Then they quit, now what? Pay for your own school, if you can’t afford it you should sign up for the service.
The program that Dad was in had a provision that if you left within a certain number of years after finishing the program, you had to pay the company. That could easily be done nowadays too.
If you do not train them because you fear they will run to your competitor for 25 cents per hour you end up with the most loyal but least trained workfroce. Lastly, if they are walking for 25 cents per hour it means you attract people only because you pay a little more. Businesses need to offer more than a top pay, starting with good work conditions, trianing, advancement possibilities, profit sharing and more. OH, healthcare should not be one of them. Our government should be providing healthcare so Maine businesses can compete on their skills within a global economy where the other governments provide healthcare.
That’s a typical entitlement mentality. You have to earn top pay and benefits, its not owed to you.
China probably has the biggest social health care in the world as well as the biggest manufacturing economy in the world, I don’t think that is working out very well for anybody other than big government entitlement minded types.
Getting laid off around Christmas time is about as sick of a feeling as a person can get, I would encourage avoiding it just like putting a loaded gun in your mouth. Go to school and be a nurse.
With the new changes from tech school to a more college classroom schedule it is just going to get worse.