Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/819981
58 The PCB Magazine • May 2017 if both the referrer and the referee are still em- ployed, then they get a referral bonus and we try to promote that. We have seen successful re- sults from that program. Also, if we have open positions that seem to match up then we're in contact with those technical schools directly. Our recruiter is in contact with their placement officer or their adviser, so we're saying, "Do you have anyone?" and encouraging that. Goldman: Do you have any feeling for how famil- iar the technical schools and others are with this type of business, or with manufacturing? Do the kids know what's out there? They obviously know banking and finance and some other things. Then they see Microsoft and all those types of compa- nies, but we often find that when it comes to the manufacturing, the nitty-gritty here, they real- ly don't even know what it is. It seems so many people in our industry just kind of fell into circuit boards. I think it's changed a little bit but I don't know if it's changed enough. Miller: I don't know if they're searching nec- essarily for printed circuit boards, per se. But chemical processing is one way that people find their way to us. Another is CNC programming. We are an attractive operation for many inter- ested in hands-on work in a high-tech environ- ment. Goldman: I've been thinking about this a lot. How do kids know what kind of jobs are out there, what type of industries there are? They don't run door- to-door and they don't read the employment ads in the newspaper. They aren't going to learn it in school. All they see there are teachers. Brennan: Well, a lot of the high schools do have vo-tech programs still, so there is some feeding through from those programs. Goldman: And you are in touch with those schools, I take it? Brennan: We still have a gap between us be- cause we're requiring an associate's degree for most positions. We're not able to pick them up right out of high school in the vo-tech program. Goldman: But perhaps direct them that there are these kinds of career paths one can take, like engi- neering. Brennan: From time to time we have hired in- tern students at the high school level. There's Forbes Road Career and Technology Center right around the corner, and that's a vo-tech program. We have several current employees who started 10 or 15 years ago as interns and have moved up in the company since then. It does work. They're in the shop class or they're in a vo-tech program through high school, and from there decide if they want to pursue a de- gree, and then they go into an associates pro- gram. Goldman: Through an intern program, you can perhaps get those guys started down technical ca- reer paths. That's nice. You have open positions. What are you looking for in those positions? Miller: For the circuit boards division, we're looking for a chemical process technician. We're looking for an imaging technician. I think we have hired a drilling/routing person, who should be starting soon. Also inside sales. Goldman: What are your requirements for the technicians? Miller: We are looking for at least a two-year de- gree in a technical field. HOW TO FIND—AND RETAIN—THE RIGHT PEOPLE FOR THE RIGHT JOBS