In high school, Genesis Gomez took one manufacturing class and loved it, especially when she got to tear apart an engine and rebuild it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe spray painted it purple and it was shiny, so it looked pretty and it ran,\u201d Gomez said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
Gomez liked all of her classes at CEC Early College in downtown Denver, but said she really enjoyed the manufacturing environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I felt like I was actually doing something. Making something of myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The 18-year-old has since graduated and now gets to work at 5 a.m., at CoorsTek, an engineered ceramics company based in Golden, Colorado, that makes everything from orthopedic implants to ball bearings for jet engines.<\/p>\n
On the bright, loud factory floor, Gomez is using a computer numerical control machine, a large piece of automated equipment that can cut and drill with precision. She fastens a small piece of ceramic material inside the machine, turns it on, flips the piece and then cleans off the powder.<\/p>\n
Next, the part is sent on a days-long journey through a kiln and is inspected. The finished product is a mold for aluminum cans.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike soda, energy drinks, beer, all that stuff,\u201d Gomez said. \u201cThis is what they used to make the cans.\u201d<\/p>\n
The CNC machine Gomez uses to make can molds requires both computer and machining skills; it can take years to master. Gomez is at CoorsTek to learn these skills through a new apprentice program aimed at training a younger workforce.<\/p>\n
These types of jobs can be hard to fill: A recent survey<\/a> by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce shows that more than half of manufacturers struggle to hire for these kinds of jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s very stressful,\u201d said Sean Grubb, the director of technical training at CoorsTek. \u201cYou have customers that you’ve committed orders to, committed to making product for and then you don’t have enough people to run the equipment.”<\/p>\n In July, more than 450,000 manufacturing positions<\/a> were unfilled at companies across the country. While these numbers have fallen over the past four years, hiring has been a persistent top industry concern<\/a> since 2017.<\/p>\n \u201cSo while job openings still remain significant, even though the pace of hiring has slowed, this creates space for employers to refocus on long-term talent development \u2026 like apprenticeships and upskilling,\u201d said Victoria Bloom, chief economist at the National Association of Manufacturers.<\/p>\n State agencies are throwing millions of dollars<\/a> at this problem. Companies and trade groups are working to recruit and teach, as are high schools. This summer, CoorsTek opened a regional hands-on training academy<\/a>, paid for through a state grant, as it brought its young apprentices on board.<\/p>\n These apprentices make $19 an hour. Their workday starts early, at 5 or 6 a.m.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we’re really trying to get back into the schools, get back into reaching people at a younger age,\u201d Grubb said. \u201cLet them know that these opportunities to make a really good living, really good wage, exist in manufacturing.\u201d<\/p>\n This might be news to some. Peter Hancock, a recruiter and the workforce chair for the Rocky Mountain Tooling and Machining Association, said manufacturing has an image problem.<\/p>\n \u201cForever, it was dark, dangerous, disappearing<\/a>. People thought of a manufacturing facility as a production line,\u201d Hancock said. \u201cNot automation. Not technology.\u201d<\/p>\n Both the perception of the work and its availability has changed over time. In the early 2000s, millions of American manufacturing jobs were sent overseas<\/a>. Meanwhile, Hancock said, high school training programs began to shut down as getting a college degree became more important.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the last 30 years, manufacturing was seen as a second class job,\u201d Hancock said. \u201cIt was not seen as \u2018If my son or daughter goes into this job they are successful\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n The inability to recruit and train, plus the retirement of aging workers has contributed to trouble filling jobs. But, experts agree, this is starting to change.<\/p>\n