Manufacturing Careers (NAPSA)—Good newsfor people concerned about employment in America today: Well-paying jobs in the manufacturing sector— actually, more than 600,000 of them—are waiting for workers whohavebeen properlytrained. That’s why now may be the time to take a second look at a career in manufacturing. Whyare so manyskilled labor jobs unfilled? Part of it has to do with perception. Many people, especially young people, think a career in manufacturing involves working in noisy, dirty surroundings in a job that gatherslittle respect and less attention. Those stereotypes may have been more accurate decades ago, but are really nottoday. Manufacturing plants and facilities are now highly automated,andit takes a great deal of training and knowledgeto operate the machinery and equipment. People can’t simply walk in off the street and get those jobs. As high school students think about plansfollowing graduation, a career in a skilled laborfield isn’t top of mind with most. In fact, a recentpoll found that while 70 percent of Americans think manufacturing is the most important industry as far as effect on the national economygoes, only 30 percent say they’d encourage their children to pursue a manufacturingcareer. While conventional four-year college programsare a goodfit for some, manystudents would thrive in a technical education program if given the chance. Often in only two years, a young man or woman can get a technical degree,start working a meaningful job that offers career advancement, and makea decent living doing so. The average hourly wage for manufacturingjobs is about $24, according to Businessweek.com. The private sector is doingits part to encourage manufacturing careers. Many technical schools Many technical schools and community colleges now teach specific manufacturing disciplines designed to give students added skills to make them more employable. and community colleges are partnering with Snap-on Incorporated to teach specific disciplines designed to give students added skills to make them more employable. The company is a leading manufacturerof tools, equipment and diagnostics for the transportation, aviation, aerospace and manufacturing sectors, and has developed certification programs for students to receive extra training in certain technical disciplines. The goalof the Snap-on certifications is not to teach how machinery operates or how anaircraft flies, but rather, to show students the proper and best way to use specific tools and equipment to become more productive in theirjobs. Most Snap-on certification courses comprise 16 hours of instruction and are blended into the school’s existing technical course program. More than 100 technical schools across the country offer certifications as part of their curriculum. Tofacilitate the certifications in the partnering schools, Snap-on works with the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3), an organization that validates and oversees the certification assessmentstandards. For moreinformation on the certification program orto see a list of participating schools, visit www1.snapon.com/Education.
