Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1437606
90 PCB007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2021 Mitchell: at's right. People are making stron- ger investments. at's another part of what you'll hear me talk about. Another reason for bringing all this up is to talk about how and why to strategically hire. ere's very little scrutiny taking place on the people many organizations are trying to hire right now. A lot of people are just saying, "Get me a warm body! We'll train you up and figure it out." at's fine, but the challenge is understanding whether that per- son is a one-trick pony or are multifaceted. We need talent that can adapt to change. Matties: I was talking to a fabricator who said that when they hire somebody they only expect them to stick around for a couple of years, maybe three at best. eir big challenge is how to train them up fast enough. Hearing about your training program will be very wel- comed. Mitchell: I've heard the same thing, which is fascinating. Matties: It's an extremely competitive market and if you're just bringing in a line operator to run an etcher or something to that effect, hir- ing bonuses are being offered in many places that you are competing against. Mitchell: Yes. e opportunity that I hope to bring home is that those companies that can offer the right incentives to bring in some- body who can stick around have a tremendous advantage of not having as much turnover. Matties: Absolutely. I think that's exactly the right message. If they're not hiring for lon- gevity, there's a problem. I know we're trying to rush bodies in to get jobs done, but there's a big cost for scrap and most scrap is human error. Mitchell: I agree with you. e training pro- grams to help people come up to speed very quickly are critical. ere's also some assess- ment we can do as to how capable an individ- ual is. Don't just accept any warm body; do a little bit of assessment. Matties: I don't think you should throw away your hiring standards just because you're in crisis. At the same time, we must develop the future workforce and that's part of IPC STEM and emerging engineer programs. We are a sponsor of the STEM program, so that's some- thing close to our hearts as well. Mitchell: Yes, we're super excited about the STEM programs and we are doing a lot on that front. is is about building the pipeline for the industry. So, when we say there's a skills gap, Dave Hernandez, our VP of education, is quick to point out that there are four issues and IPC is working on all four. One is the pipeline. e second is onboarding. e third one is path- ways, and the fourth is upskilling. Pipeline is where the foundation comes in, where we're working to help educate, inform, and engage students in high schools, universities, people changing jobs, about what this industry is, and what it has to offer. Onboarding is the very quick turn, helping train people in a repeatable fashion that will get them what they need as fast as possible, which is employees that can be productive. e pathways are about keeping the employ- ees that you have. Is there a pathway for their success? Our design programs provide path-