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William Knudsen was President of General Motors prior to the start of World War II, so I'm assuming this was written pre-war or even during the war. The last paragraph could have been addressing the the need to re-tool after the war but it seems also to apply to our current situation in manufacturing, especially if you use mechanic in the general sense of the word rather than the specific sense as someone who works on wheeled vehicles. I especially like the line "best of all is the man who combines the learning of books with the learning which comes of doing things with the hands."
When I was 21 I was going to college, on and off, I had a good start as a welder, was able to swap engines and keep my cars and bikes running. Nothing unusual back then. Pretty much the same as everyone else I knew, unless you got drafted. Now days, if a young guy will get up off the couch and decide to be a mechanic, again in the generic sense, the sky's the limit. CNC machining, CAD drafting, 3D printing, Programmable Logic Controllers - all kinds of computer driven opportunities, and with maker spaces, YouTube videos, and web sites like Coursera, you can take college courses free from some of the finest universities in the world.
Twenty one or not, it's a great time to be a mechanic.
2 comments:
HEY BOB, THERE,UNFORTUNATELY, ISN'T NEAR ENOUGH OF ANYONE WHO WANTS TO WORK WITH THEIR HANDS. (UNLESS IT'S TO WORK A CELL PHONE!) THE OTHER PROBLEM IS, THE JOBS THAT NEED PEOPLE LIKE THIS ARE NOW IN OTHER COUNTRIES. I SEE IT IN ALL "SERVICE" INDUSTRIES. THERE ARE THE BOOMERS, SOME 40 SOMETHINGS, A HANDFUL OF 30 SOMETHINGS AND THEN ALMOST NOTHING. I WISH THAT GUY WAS IN CHARGE NOW........
TALK TO YOU SOON,
TVI
I'm a little more optimistic than I used to be. Lot of the guys who come through the college are like we were way back when. It just takes a while for some of them to wake up but they're pretty gung-ho once they get a taste of welding or machining, etc. The high schools no longer provide much of a feeder system so they aren't exposed to the trades or any type of mechanical job. STEM is the big thing now but it seems to appeal to the same type of student who was already headed toward those fields anyway.
Industry is starting to play a larger role in recruiting and training people. If they start paying decent wages as well, there'll be plenty of talent knocking on the door trying to get in. Going to take time but I think the pendulum is already starting to swing back.
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