MILWAUKEE - Growing up about 30 years ago, Super Steel Inc. President and CEO Dirk Smith says, he learned a work ethic and other essential skills that he believes are missing now in some job applicants.
“My parents instilled that in me,” said Smith, adding that he didn’t have to learn many of the “soft skills” in the workplace because he had already been taught them at home.
Now, Smith says, he sees young people lacking knowledge of basic things such as showing up to work on time. Sometimes they don’t have a bank account, which is a problem because Super Steel, a Milwaukee manufacturer and metal fabricator, has a direct-deposit payroll.
“We can teach kids the technical skills, on how to weld or operate a brake press. . But if they are missing the essential life skills, then all of that training is lost,” Smith said.
Addressing the issue, Super Steel has partnered with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin in a welder skills development program where the curriculum includes classes in areas such as communication, teamwork and conflict resolution.
Students, who are preparing for jobs at Super Steel, are paid $10 per hour through the Hispanic Chamber while they are in the “essential life skills” classes taught by the Milwaukee-based organization. The program is open to both Hispanic and non-Hispanic applicants, and the training was slated to begin this month.
Other companies also have used the program to address shortages of skilled-trades workers.
“It’s refreshing that the Hispanic Chamber is dedicating a significant amount of time, on the front end, to what employers’ expectations are relative to life skills because maybe some of these kids aren’t getting those essential skills at home,” Smith said.
Often it’s attitude, and not just technical ability, that determines whether someone is successful, according to Smith.
That’s where soft skills training can make a difference.
“We get someone through a learning curve, and a probation period, and for the most part they will keep their nose clean within that first 90 days. And then after that the true character comes out, and sometimes it’s not at all pleasant,” Smith said.
The training comes as employers, nationwide, complain about shortages of people in the skilled trades. Wisconsin ranks No. 5 among states in the demand for welders, behind Texas, Ohio, California and Pennsylvania. But Wisconsin does not even make it into the top 10 states in terms of the availability of welders, according to research from Manpower Group Inc.
The welder shortage is “a train wreck that’s going to hit the economy even bigger than we realize,” said Jorge Franco, chairman, president and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber.
“There’s no way the skills gap gets solved without the high-growth Hispanic workforce. It’s an important part of what the solution must look like,” Franco said.
Drugs and alcohol are major reasons why some people can’t get or hold a job regardless of their technical skills. The essential life skills classes address substance abuse and other areas including money management, stress management, harassment, critical thinking and problem solving, relationship building, teamwork, professionalism, and making first impressions.
It can take 40 to 60 hours to complete the classes, depending on the needs of the students. The instruction is done in a group setting and sometimes through one-on-one counseling.
Labor unions that represent the skilled trades teach soft skills as part of apprenticeships, including lessons in money management and planning for layoffs and retirement.
The theory is if you reduce the stress and problems in someone’s personal life, the benefits carry over into the workplace.
“All of our participants are required to take the financial classes,” said Joe Weisling, director for the Southeast Wisconsin Carpentry Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.
“It’s not a reflection of the student; it’s a reflection of the times. We live in a culture of immediate self gratification. And if somebody doesn’t help temper that, especially with kids growing up very quickly, it can create a disaster for them that’s not going away,” Weisling said.
Super Steel is recruiting students for its welder development program.
The program is offered at no cost to the trainees. After successful completion of the life skills classes and the customized welder skills training at Milwaukee Area Technical College, students will be offered jobs at Super Steel.
Those hired will complete an additional three weeks of welder technical training followed by nine weeks of mentored on-the-job training at Super Steel.
“This is our first go-around with it,” Smith said about partnering with the Hispanic Chamber.
As the company gets experience with the program, it will likely adopt some of the strategies for other training purposes, according to Smith.
“I like the concept of it,” he said.
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