"Old-line factory workers wake up to high-tech future" -Medill Reports
By Rakesh Sharma | June 10, 2010
Fernando Camacho finds math-rounding concepts difficult. “It is kind of hard doing math after so many years,” said the 42-year-old Chicago resident who spent 15 years working in the manufacturing industry.
But he has no choice if he wants a job in today's more advanced factories.
Camacho and other jobless factory workers are heading back to school, and taking advantage of federal dollars from the Workforce Investment Act, to get the new skills they need to be competitive.
“They (employers) were bringing in new technologies and machines,” he said. “I can’t work on those machines unless I learn math here.”
“Here” is Erie Neighborhood House, a West Side non-profit that is providing training and education in basic math and language to immigrants, free of charge, with federal funds.
After Erie’s program, and if Camacho passes a language and math entrance exam, he will enroll in a programming class for computerized numerical controls at Jane Addams Resource Corp. in the Ravenswood neighborhood, again free of charge.
All of this should prepare him for a job, and there are plenty out there for workers with advanced skills in machine programming.
“Companies are desperately searching for workers with technical expertise,” said Dan Swinney, executive director at the Center for Labor and Community Research in Chicago. “There has been a shift towards high-tech value-added work in the U.S.”
Besides technical skills, lack of English language proficiency is another significant barrier to being rehired. During class, Erie instructor David Swanson translates each sentence into Spanish. “We have had cases of people who have worked for 18 years in the manufacturing sector but do not have a job because they don’t possess language skills,” he said.
The programming jobs, with average salaries of $15-$20 per hour, are attractive for former minimum-wage workers who are capable of doing the work once they’ve received the additional education and training.
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