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May 2017 • The PCB Magazine 41 half my graduating class wanted to be teachers, probably because that's all they saw. Pauls: We didn't really have a scientific influ- ence in my home. My mom was an English teacher, and my dad was a purchasing agent for the state of Wisconsin. He had been a carpen- ter and a bricklayer, and a stone mason before then. But when I grew up, my formative years were all during the Apollo program. So I took a look at all the Mercury and the Apollo missions, and that's when I wanted to be a scientist and an engineer. I wanted to be part of that push for the stars, and that's what inspired me. If you talk with most scientists and engineers, they saw something in their youth that fired their imagination and got them along that track, and that's what we're trying to do now. Goldman: You're trying to be that inspiration. That's great. You were elected to the IPC Hall of Fame; what does that mean to you? Pauls: I would have to say I'm still kind of stunned by it. I look at all the Hall of Famers, and of course you were in this position last year. I look at all those people, and these are all the ones I've looked at as industry giants throughout the years, people who I have respected and revered, and you are one of them. I'm wondering and still amazed that people would think that I would fit into that class. So it's a humbling experience, and I hope I'm always worthy of that honor. Goldman: Oh, they'll make sure that you are, Doug. Pauls: Yeah, I'm sure I'm not being put out to pasture just yet. Goldman: Oh, you're not being put out to pasture, not at all. Thanks so much for your time, Doug, and for your insights. I really appreciate it. Pauls: You're welcome, Patty. PCB ROCKWELL COLLINS' DOUG PAULS DISCUSSES VOLUNTEERING, MENTORING AND THEIR ROAD SHOW In response to mounting concern about the short- age of U.S. workers with skills needed by electron- ics manufacturers, IPC—As- sociation Connecting Elec- tronics Industries conducted a "fast-facts" study to learn more about the skills gap as it affects U.S. electronics assembly manufacturers. The results, published last week in Findings on the Skills Gap in U.S. Electronics Manufacturing, indicate that most companies are having a hard time recruiting qualified production workers, and they are having an even harder time finding qualified engineers and other technical professionals. Among production jobs, general assembler and hand solderer positions are the most difficult to fill. On the professional side, quality control, process and entry-level electrical engineers have been hardest to find. Insufficient experience is the most common reason that applicants do not qualify for most positions. For many engineering and other tech - nical professional positions, however, the leading reason jobs went unfilled was that there were no appli- cants at all. Respondents cited many essential skills that are in short supply, but the most commonly cited are soldering for production jobs, and engineers with industry experience, especially in process, test and quality control. The purpose of the study is to reveal specifics about the skills gap that can help IPC and oth - er associations and organizations determine what actions they can take to help build the skill base of the U.S. labor force. A representative sample of 45 U.S. contract electronics manufacturers and OEMs contributed data. IPC's U.S. Skills Gap Study Reveals Qualifications in Short Supply