IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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IPC COMMUNITY 11 FALL 2024 for aerospace and defense customers, which are not widely available. We also offer small- to mid- size or small- to mid-volume manufacturing for the commercial aerospace and defense industry. Chad is an engineer and our CEO. My focus is on talent development, and sales and marketing. We want to employ a group of entrepreneurial- minded employees because we think that elevates the engagement of our staff, which in turn provides better service for our customers. We like to say we do the hard things fast and support our customers as they move into higher volumes or revisions as their product becomes more stable. What factors influenced you to work with IPC? Our relationship with IPC has evolved over the past several years. Initially, we saw IPC for its standards. But when I started attending the EMS Leadership Summit at APEX EXPO, I realized there was so much more to IPC, which opened more doors for us, creating growth and partner- ship opportunities I didn't realize were possible. For one, I like having frank conversations with EMS owners from other areas of the country, and I'm not worried they will steal my "secret sauce." It's nice to know that we're not alone in our struggles as business owners. I'm still a fairly young owner, so it helps to pick the brains of those who have been in the business for much longer. Tapping into that industry experience has been phenomenal. Being in a leadership position on the steering committee allows me to represent the needs that are important to the executive leadership of an EMS organization, advocate for leaders and business initiatives, and to network. I've also become involved in the government relations and advocacy group, which can be powerful for EMS companies. For example, one of their big initiatives is supporting fabs at the federal level. Why would an EMS company care about that? Being able to support my defense customers who want a fab in three days or less is part of my core business model. So, supporting advocacy and that supply chain directly affects EMS companies. What are the specific challenges in find- ing and retaining a skilled workforce? We are in an area with a handful of EMS sup- pliers and OEMs from northern Washington to Oregon, but there is not a training institution to provide a trained, skilled workforce to support our growth needs. In the Puget Sound commu- nity, we were forced to "beg, borrow, and steal" each other's employees. That was a problem because we like being friendly competitors with neighbors. I feel like there's enough work to go around. The idea of "stealing" a worker didn't sit well with me, but I was overwhelmed by the idea that I might have to set up a training program to support my business independently. That's when I heard about IPC's apprenticeship program. How do you find employees? We have two main referral sources: relation- ships with local high schools and tech schools