When I was half way through my senior year of HS, I started my tool and die apprenticeship. At graduation from HS, I could go to work at NCR two dozen large tool and die shops or one of a half dozen GM plants. That's not even counting Dayton Tire and Rubber, McCauly Printing or GHR foundry Master Electric and on and on.
NCR furnished my high school machine shop class with the latest and greatest in equipment because they trained their apprentices at our school. All my classmates in machine shop went on to work in industry or tool and die. My apprenticeship was at WPAFB. Along with other top students in high schools around Dayton.
NONE OF THOSE PLACES EXIST TODAY. With the exception of about 8 large tool shops and a handful of guys trying to keep 2 to 5 men shops up and running. Also WPAFB, but they got rid of their machine shops and apprenticeships.
There is a demand for tool and die workers still. But you can't find the students with the math knowledge to do the work. And where as I could be hired right out of school and be a productive worker in a machine shop, the shops today have to train a rookie. And that's expensive for them.
What's the answer? We need to start building everything we need on a day to day basis, right here in America. Like we used to. When we all could have jobs that meant something. Where we could take care of a family. When we could all be productive. Have some pride in what we did. Those days are what I miss.
But they ain't coming back.
NCR furnished my high school machine shop class with the latest and greatest in equipment because they trained their apprentices at our school. All my classmates in machine shop went on to work in industry or tool and die. My apprenticeship was at WPAFB. Along with other top students in high schools around Dayton.
NONE OF THOSE PLACES EXIST TODAY. With the exception of about 8 large tool shops and a handful of guys trying to keep 2 to 5 men shops up and running. Also WPAFB, but they got rid of their machine shops and apprenticeships.
There is a demand for tool and die workers still. But you can't find the students with the math knowledge to do the work. And where as I could be hired right out of school and be a productive worker in a machine shop, the shops today have to train a rookie. And that's expensive for them.
What's the answer? We need to start building everything we need on a day to day basis, right here in America. Like we used to. When we all could have jobs that meant something. Where we could take care of a family. When we could all be productive. Have some pride in what we did. Those days are what I miss.
But they ain't coming back.