1. education
2. graduate school
3. college

NEWS
AME Alliance Newsletter
Session 6 2015
The approach for effective recruiting has changed.
The employees you need to find are anywhere, but not everywhere.
The days of running an ad in the paper are waning as are the
number of available workers declines. The tendency for some
employers is to cast a wider net in an attempt to keep the funnel
full at the top. Using hundreds of temp workers to find those that
can be a permanent asset is costly. One manufacturer spent nearly a
million dollars with a temp service last year and gained just two
permanent employees. Spending five hundred thousand dollars per
hire is not a sustainable model!
The new paradigm for recruiting, retaining, and advancing a
workforce requires a targeted approach.
The new strategy is selective recruitment.
You can see the work ethic, habits and competencies of your
potential new hires everywhere you go. You can observe them at
their current job and can make assessments about their fit into your organization. Is the bagboy at your grocer a sharp kid?
Does the night manager at the corner convenience store consistently deliver customer service? Who is the most industrious at
the detail car wash? Who at the full service gas station? Now your recruiting lens is focused on fewer, yet more likely
prospects from the broader spectrum of the labor pool. The same holds true as you evaluate who on your front line can move
into higher levels of responsibility and management. Where there is a gap in skills and education, provide support and
resources.
The hard part
How can you determine an internal or external candidate’s
employability in your organization?
It begins by knowing:

What characteristics and skills are needed by job
candidates
 How you will manage effective career progression for all
employees including succession planning for leadership and
management positions
 How employee education and training contribute to
achieving business results goals
 How to organize and manage people to promote
cooperation and ensure knowledge transfer
Wrestling with these topics allows you to target recruiting efforts
for new hires and current worker advancement. You’ll know exactly what you need in an employee, and exactly how your
training systems function to cultivate that employee.
Target training for immediate needs and plan training for future needs.
Make ongoing training the bedrock of employee recruitment and retention. Instill in your workforce culture that ongoing
training will be supported by you, and that the responsibility lies with each employee to advance and enhance their own career
options within your organization. The smaller your workforce, the larger looms this necessity. Instead of competing for
machinists, find people to train as machinists.
Training and development can come from traditional sources such as your community technical college or state university,
from online instruction like that offered through the AME Alliance, and from apprenticeships. Look for training offered by
industry associations, community education programs, and Adult Basic Education.
Find out how you can put these programs to work as part of your new strategy to select, recruit, and train.-DKB
See related article in the Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/business/285666301.html
IN THEIR OWN WORDS:
Ultra Machining Company manufactures, engineers and produces
precision-machined parts and assemblies for the medical,
aerospace, commercial, industrial, and energy industries. The
company is located in Monticello.
UMC makes education and training a part of its
day-to-day business. The company has offered
training programs to employees for some 30
years.
Says Eric Gibson, president, “Our focus has
always been, how do we help our current
employees and advance them up the corporate
ladder, and how do we get our new employees
up to speed?”
Jaci Dukowitz, Director of Human Resources &
Development, is in the process of rewriting the
onboarding process and developing a curriculum
that targets what employees need to develop a
career path. Initial efforts in the partnership with
AME have focused on current staff development,
including the department leads. UMC is proud to
offer these trainings in our newly redesigned
training room. UMC pays employees to attend
sessions, including an hour before each weekly
class where employees can quietly study, prepare
for tests or collaborate on homework.
COURSE HIGHLIGHT: QUALITY PRACTICES
The course focuses on quality management systems and
continuous improvement concepts. Students are introduced to
several frameworks for defining product and process quality,
and how a quality management system integrates the
frameworks with improvement efforts. Course topics include:
 quality philosophies
 ISO 9001
 statistical process control
 problem solving
 corrective action programs
 preventative actions
 control of quality records
 control of documents
 control of non-conforming product
 internal auditing of processes
“I’m really enjoying the
Quality Practices course so
far. It’s easy to apply what
I’m learning to my job, and
I’m very impressed by the
instructor."
Jeff Frodermann
Toro Company
Windom, MN
For information on this and other Advanced Manufacturing Education courses contact a partner college:
Dale Ray Thiesen
Central Lakes College
Heidi Braun
Pine Technical &
Community College
Debra Bultnick
St. Cloud Technical &
Community College
DThiesen@clcmn.edu
218.894.5194
BraunH@pine.edu
320.629.5178
dbultinck@sctcc.edu
320.308.5350
Look How Far We’ve Come!
Growth in Participation & Course Offerings
May 14 – Jan 15
(5 sessions)
Total Participation
479
Total Unique
Participants
339
Total Businesses
47
AME Full Course List
Safety Awareness CMAE 1514 2 credits ($374)
FYE Credits
915
Manufacturing Processes & Production CMAE 1518
2 credits ($374)
Quality Practices CMAE 1522 2 credits ($374)
AME Enrollment Growth
May 2014-Jan 2015
Maintenance Awareness CMAE 1526 2 credits
($374)
Career Success Skills CMAE 1529 1 credit ($187)
200
Technical Math CMAE 1502 3 credits ($561)
Intro to Computers CMAE 1506 2 credits ($374)
Print Reading CMAE 1510 2 credits ($374)
150
Seats
Intro to Robotics ETEC1550 3 credits ($374)
GD&T CMAE 1542 2 credits ($374)
100
Intro to CAM 2 credits ($374)
Advanced CAM 2 credits ($374)
50
Intro to CAD 3 credits ($561)
Advanced CAD 3 credits ($561)
0
13
Measuring Tools 1 credit ($187)
S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5
Session
5-Axis Milling no credit
All of these courses are offered in AME; costs based
on the current cost per credit of $176. Free tuition
not guaranteed through life of the grant.
Maintaining production levels
should not slow down your efforts
to improve technical skills.
Train your whole team through the
Advanced Manufacturing Education
Alliance. A USDOL grant is currently
funding our courses as we work to
achieve sustainability.
Our courses lead to both industry and
academic certification. Credits earned
for basic classes such as Safety
Awareness roll into credits that
articulate towards future certificates,
diplomas, AAS and BAS degrees.
Best of all, courses are delivered to
your site online or via Mediated
Telepresence. That means an
instructor interacts real-time with
class participants from a remote
location. The courses are accelerated
to 8 weeks, two sessions per
semester.
Many of our industry partners are
sending cohorts to several classes on
a rotation that meets their both their
training and production needs.
FREE Courses Begin April 27, 2015
Mediated Telepresence FREE*
(Regular price: $176/credit)
On Demand $99
(Regular price: $176/credit)
CMAE 1514 Safety Awareness (2)
CMAE 1518 Mfg Processes & Production (2)
CMAE 1526 Maintenance Awareness (2)
CMAE 1528 Career Success Skills (1)
CMAE 1506 Introduction to Computers (2)
CMAE 1522 Quality Practices (2)
CMAE 1502 GD&T (2)
CMAE 1514 Safety Awareness (2)
CMAE 1518 Mfg Processes & Production (2)
*Fees for books, software, labs and other coursework material
may apply. FREE classes are being offered for a limited time.
For more information and dates/times, contact your
Customized Training Representative.
Deadline to Enroll is Friday, April 17, 2015
For registration information contact:
Dale Ray Thiesen
Central Lakes College
Heidi Braun
Pine Technical &
Community College
Debra Bultnick
St. Cloud Technical &
Community College
DThiesen@clcmn.edu
218.894.5194
BraunH@pine.edu
320.629.5178
dbultinck@sctcc.edu
320.308.5350