There’s a phrase that’s commonly used among the staff at AEM member company Weiler, one which succinctly describes the Knoxville, Iowa-based equipment manufacturer’s approach to attracting the workforce of tomorrow: “Good people over good paper.”
Its meaning is almost as simple at the phrase itself. Not everyone needs to earn an advanced degree to earn a good living and achieve professional success. More than anything, though, the phrase serves as a valuable reminder to Weiler’s organizational leadership of the importance of targeting potential employees who are highly motivated and want to contribute to the success of a larger group.
“We work diligently to identify people at the high school level who would be good candidates to be employees here. We try to make sure these students understand that they don’t necessarily have to go to college and incur a lot of debt,” said Megan Green, counsel and engineering manager at Weiler, which manufactures equipment for the asphalt paving market. “Workforce development has long been an initiative of ours, and it’s something we’ve approached through various arms – including apprenticeship programs, internship programs and more – for the better part of the last 15 years.”
As part of its ongoing efforts to inspire members and association partners in developing strategies to build a bigger, better workforce, AEM is pleased to offers its second-annual Workforce Solutions Virtual Summit, slated for Aug. 19. Register now.
Building a Positive Perception of the Skilled Trades
Internships are critically important of Weiler’s work, as it’s the primary means by which the company brings new engineers into the organization. Meanwhile, the company’s apprenticeship program, established just a few short years ago, has been quite effective in recruiting welders.
“We just find that it’s more effective when they already have an established base and a good support system within Weiler and our surrounding county,” said Green. “It’s allowed us to find the kind of people who are going to be successful here – the ones who are self-motivated, good with their hands and driven to make something useful.”
However, while the term “workforce development” is often most closely associated with the strategies and tactics related to closing the skills gap and attracting, training and – ultimately – retaining good and qualified employees, it can (and should) refer to so much more. For Weiler, the term also encompasses any and all efforts made to build a positive perception of manufacturing and the skilled trades through community outreach.
Community Outreach as a Workforce Development Tactic
Last year, the Weiler Foundation responded to the unprecedented need for community support in the midst of the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic by donating $1,000 checks to 20 local Marion County organizations.
Only months before, the Weiler Foundation had requested applications as part of Weiler's 20th business anniversary. The Foundation ended up receiving way more applications than expected, and the decision was eventually made to award $500 grants to an additional 34 organizations. All told, the Foundation dispersed $37,000 in funds.
“We have grown from a business employing four people in a 40,000-square-foot building to employing 475 people in a 400,000-square-foot building,” said Green, the Weiler Foundation’s president, in an interview with the Oskaloosa Herald (Iowa) last August. “We are grateful to Knoxville and Marion County for welcoming our business and providing a community our employees are proud to call home. The grants we are awarding will put money back into the region and will support the good work of our local charitable organizations.”
“We work diligently to identify people at the high school level who would be good candidates to be employees here. We try to make sure these students understand that they don’t necessarily have to go to college and incur a lot of debt. Workforce development has long been an initiative of ours, and it’s something we’ve approached through various arms – including apprenticeship programs, internship programs and more – for the better part of the last 15 years.” -- Weiler Counsel and Engineering Manager Megan Green
Another notable, and more recent, example of Weiler working to spread awareness of the industry was through its $500,000 donation from the Weiler Donation to the Knoxville School Board.
While the donation isn’t earmarked for anything in particular, the foundation is working with the school district on a number of different initiatives.
“It’s been a great partnership, and the local schools have been doing a good job pointing students in our direction and helping us identify people who would be good potential candidates,” said Green.
Leveraging Local Talent
Talent acquisition is no easy task for manufacturers these days. In fact, it continues to become more and more difficult over time. However, despite the ongoing challenges equipment manufacturers face in their attempts to win the talent war, workforce development remains front-of-mind for organizations of all types and sizes within the industry.
In the case of Weiler, though, adopting the mindset of “good people over good paper” has paid dividends. And coupling that mindset with well-conceived and targeted efforts to mine for talent within their own community has allowed the company to thrive despite the ever-growing shortage of skilled laborers across the United States.
“You have to leverage your own backyard, because there are people who are underemployed in their current positions who think, ‘I fix motorcycles in my spare time,’ but I can’t manufacture something,” said Green. “We don’t think that’s true, and we’re happy to train people who are interested in capitalizing on those skills. We just had so much success with that over the years and we love seeing employees rise to their talent level..”
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Green offered some advice for equipment manufacturers who are still in the earliest stages addressing the skills gap at a local level: Start with the schools.
“If you have a good relationship with your school district, and if the administration there is clued into what you are actually doing and the types and breadth of positions you have available, you can really make some strides,” said Green. “Ultimately, I think that goes a long way toward encouraging students that – while they can move on and move away, they shouldn’t want to. There’s options right where you are, and it’s a broader variety of options than most people expect.”
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