NTMA
Published

Recruitment Machines

Are you involved in a robotics league? These competitions attract and identify young people who could thrive in a manufacturing career.

Share

Here is an irony that’s hard not to love: Contrary to the fear that robots might discourage manufacturing jobs, robots are actually proving to be one of the best resources for drawing young people toward manufacturing careers. I hear this from employers who support competitive robotics programs such as FIRST Robotics or the National Robotics League.

Jergens is an example. The maker of workholding systems routinely supports a team within AWT RoboBots, northeast Ohio’s branch of the NTMA’s National Robotics League. The league consists of teams of high schoolers working with company coaches to design and build remote-controlled robots that do battle in tournaments. AWT RoboBots is overseen by the Alliance for Working Together, a manufacturers’ group in the region.

Ryan Ponsart, 19, is a past member of Jergens’s AWT RoboBots team whose participation led to the company offering him a job. On the team, he made parts for the robot on Jergens’s equipment under the company’s supervision. It was a great experience, he says, one that solidified and expanded upon what he was learning about machining in his vocational studies. (If he is not still with Jergens today, that’s only because his other interest is the military. By the time I spoke with him, he had signed on with the Marines.)

Darel Taylor is Jergens’s engineering manager. He coached the RoboBots team the year before Mr. Ponsart joined it. Back then, 11 area companies supported teams. Now, 31 do. He says a company’s motive for sponsoring a team is both community support and self interest, and the two aims blend together. Even if none of the kids on a company’s team turn into employees, the company still benefits from seeing the local manufacturing talent pool expand.

Far away in Calgary, Alberta, Kevin Saruwatari of Qsine sees his own company’s recent support of two local FIRST Robotics teams as a similarly promising scouting tactic. Within Modern Machine Shop’s LinkedIn group, he shared a series of posts with other shop owners about his experience with the members of these teams. Like Jergens, he gave the kids hours of access to his shop to make parts for their robots. The team members reached the point where his only role over them was to advise and supervise. 

“The program is a good way to meet curious, intelligent, motivated kids,” he says. “My intention is to filter out the really interested kids and offer them ‘build a go-kart’-style projects to try to keep them involved in the off-season.” That is, during the non-robot season.

What is it about robots that succeeds in engaging young people with manufacturing aptitudes? Mr. Taylor has ideas. Part of it is the timeliness—robots are coming into vogue. But he says another part is the type of success that building a robot makes possible. The final system will perform well only if each component is made precisely as designed. In this way, the robot offers a minuature version of the very same challenge and satisfaction that a career in manufacturing will also provide. 

NTMA
NTMA
Become a NTMA member today!
Gardner Business Media, Inc.
More blasting. Less part handling.
TIMTOS
Techspex
KraussMaffei
QualiChem Metalworking Fluids
IMTS+
Innovative Manufacturing for the Medical Industry
Koma Precision

Related Content

Basics

How to Pass the Job Interview as an Employer

Job interviews are a two-way street. Follow these tips to make a good impression on your potential future workforce.

Read More

Can Connecting ERP to Machine Tool Monitoring Address the Workforce Challenge?

It can if RFID tags are added. Here is how this startup sees a local Internet of Things aiding CNC machine shops.

Read More
Sponsored

Finally, A Comprehensive Software Solution Designed for Small Job Shops

Zel X from Siemens is an integrated software application that consolidates collaboration, design, manufacturing, and operations into a comprehensive, easy-to-use solution. From RFQ to delivery, it’s a more efficient way to handle quotes, manage jobs, make parts, and collaborate with teams of all sizes.

Read More

Solve Worker Shortages With ACE Workforce Development

The America’s Cutting Edge (ACE) program is addressing the current shortage in trained and available workers by offering no-cost online and in-person training opportunities in CNC machining and metrology.

Read More

Read Next

Machines

IMTS 2024: Trends & Takeaways From the Modern Machine Shop Editorial Team

The Modern Machine Shop editorial team highlights their takeaways from IMTS 2024 in a video recap.

Read More
Workforce Development

Inside Machineosaurus: Unique Job Shop with Dinosaur-Named CNC Machines, Four-Day Workweek & High-Precision Machining

Take a tour of Machineosaurus, a Massachusetts machine shop where every CNC machine is named after a dinosaur! 

Read More
Sponsored

The Future of High Feed Milling in Modern Manufacturing

Achieve higher metal removal rates and enhanced predictability with ISCAR’s advanced high-feed milling tools — optimized for today’s competitive global market.

Read More
NTMA