Northeast Indiana: Hundreds of factory jobs go unfilled
By Parija Kavilanz @CNNMoney August 8, 2012
"Fort Wayne Metals Research and other companies in northeast Indiana are having a hard time filling manufacturing jobs.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Northeast Indiana has a peculiar problem.
There are hundreds of factory jobs ready for the taking as the area's manufacturing sector has come back to life after the recession.
But even with an unemployment rate as high as the national average, companies are struggling to hire workers.
This situation is top of mind for Larry Davis, CEO of Daman Manifolds in Mishawaka. The company, which makes hydraulic valve manifolds, has 115 employees.
Industry demand has boosted Daman Manifolds' business significantly. "We need to hire 10 more workers in the next six months," Davis said.
His challenge: "I'll have to go through 500 applicants just to get the 10 that I need. And there's no guarantee that those 10 hires will work out. (More: Trade school enrollment soars)
The longer it takes him to hire new workers, the greater the risk Davis could start losing business.
Daman Manifolds is not alone.
Northeast Indiana is a hotbed of manufacturing and a microcosm of a problem afflicting many employers in areas where American factories have been revived: There's a widening gulf between open jobs and qualified applicants to fill them.
Factories in northeast Indiana primarily support the medical device, aerospace, rail and defense industries, said Kris Deckard, executive director of "Ready Indiana," the workforce development initiative of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
The area -- 10 counties covering over 4,000 square miles -- has the country's highest concentration of manufacturing jobs, with 26% of the workforce employed in the industry.
But manufacturers are having a tough time boosting their workforces, Deckard said.
A labor shortage isn't the problem. Companies are getting hundreds of applicants, she said. But they are either not the right fit or unqualified.
"Applicants are failing drug tests," she said. "Some apply and then decide they want to wait until their unemployment benefit runs out before taking a factory job."
And we're being told by both candidates that the unemployment problem will be solved if we just vote for him. I don't think so!
"Fort Wayne Metals Research and other companies in northeast Indiana are having a hard time filling manufacturing jobs.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Northeast Indiana has a peculiar problem.
There are hundreds of factory jobs ready for the taking as the area's manufacturing sector has come back to life after the recession.
But even with an unemployment rate as high as the national average, companies are struggling to hire workers.
This situation is top of mind for Larry Davis, CEO of Daman Manifolds in Mishawaka. The company, which makes hydraulic valve manifolds, has 115 employees.
Industry demand has boosted Daman Manifolds' business significantly. "We need to hire 10 more workers in the next six months," Davis said.
His challenge: "I'll have to go through 500 applicants just to get the 10 that I need. And there's no guarantee that those 10 hires will work out. (More: Trade school enrollment soars)
The longer it takes him to hire new workers, the greater the risk Davis could start losing business.
Daman Manifolds is not alone.
Northeast Indiana is a hotbed of manufacturing and a microcosm of a problem afflicting many employers in areas where American factories have been revived: There's a widening gulf between open jobs and qualified applicants to fill them.
Factories in northeast Indiana primarily support the medical device, aerospace, rail and defense industries, said Kris Deckard, executive director of "Ready Indiana," the workforce development initiative of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
The area -- 10 counties covering over 4,000 square miles -- has the country's highest concentration of manufacturing jobs, with 26% of the workforce employed in the industry.
But manufacturers are having a tough time boosting their workforces, Deckard said.
A labor shortage isn't the problem. Companies are getting hundreds of applicants, she said. But they are either not the right fit or unqualified.
"Applicants are failing drug tests," she said. "Some apply and then decide they want to wait until their unemployment benefit runs out before taking a factory job."
And we're being told by both candidates that the unemployment problem will be solved if we just vote for him. I don't think so!
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