How Sacramento ’ s Advanced Manufacturers Are
Developing a Talent Pipeline
Research by California Community Colleges projects there will be 2,100 more advanced manufacturing jobs to fill by 2024 in greater Sacramento . “ In Sacramento , every single manufacturing company struggles with finding personnel at all levels of production , from entry level to mid- to high-skilled positions ,” says Michael Bell , chief engineer at the Sacramento-based California Mobility Center , founded to help earlystage mobility companies turn pilots and demonstration projects into viable products .
Starting last fall , the CMC worked with the Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Alliance , a coalition of manufacturers , to put together a 90-hour , five-week pre-apprenticeship program to get more people into what Bell calls “ low-skilled , high-demand ” occupations : warehouse personnel , forklift operators , materials handlers and production line assemblers . The program was funded initially through $ 1.4 million in Coronavirus Aid , Relief , and Economic Security Act funding granted by the Sacramento City Council in September 2020 and more recently a $ 600,000 grant from the California Workforce Development Board .
After the pre-apprenticeship , participants can move into a full apprenticeship program that will turn out certified computer numerical control machinists . The region doesn ’ t have one dominant industry in advanced manufacturing — it ’ s made up of very small companies , Bell says . What they have in common is the need for computer numerical control machinists .
The CMC and SVMA are working on expanding the program into other job categories : welding , quality technician , industrial machine mechanic or technician , and product manufacturing , Bell says .
Ultimately , participants who make it through the pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship will be eligible to continue into an even more advanced program that
leads to becoming a certified mechanical engineer . Community college data shows that mechanical engineer is the hardest advanced manufacturing job to fill in greater Sacramento , with a median wage of $ 46 an hour .
There ’ s another job category for which demand spiked recently : welders . Statewide , the number of welding jobs has been growing : a May 2019 analysis by the state community college system projected a 7-percent jump in openings by 2022 . That need became more acute when on July 7 Siemens Mobility , whose North American rail manufacturing hub is in Sacramento , announced it had won $ 3.4 billion in contracts with Amtrak to build 73 hybrid battery trains .
Delivery will start in 2024 , and the company is looking to hire 100 more welders , according to the Sacramento Business Journal . Siemens runs two welding courses itself but also is supporting welding programs at several community colleges — Sierra College , Cosumnes River College , American River College , Woodland Community College and San Joaquin Delta College — to turn out more welders with the skills they need , according to the Business Journal .
Bell says apprenticeship programs move away from the model of “ front-loading ” education , sending graduates into the workforce and then expecting that employers will recognize their degree . “ They blend those worlds together so that students are learning the classroom knowledge while they ’ re on the job , learning and executing in real time ,” he adds .
Apprentices end up with no college debt since the costs are covered by industry and grant funding . And employers end up with a pool of vetted , screened and work-ready candidates , he says .
– Steven Yoder
August 2021 | comstocksmag . com 37