Northwest Aerospace News December | January Issue No. 12 | Page 58

Workforce Development
CII relies on a highly trained workforce to
consistently deliver top quality products
that meet the stringent standards of the
company’s AS9100D certification. “We
have a very robust workforce training
program,” White said. “Over the past two
or three years, we’ve invested 25 percent of
our net profit in workforce training. There
are no other cable assembly businesses in
the area to draw from, so we have our own
IPC-620 certified trainer in house — that’s
a workmanship standard for cable assembly
that is recognized all over the world.”
When a new employee joins the company,
they undergo between two and six weeks
of intensive training, then months of
supervised work to ensure they meet the
company’s tough quality standard. The
key, according to White, is hiring the right
people. “We really hire for aptitude,”
she said. “Obviously, you can’t be color
blind, and you’ve got to have decent math
skills and the ability to be trained to look
at complicated drawings and interpret
them. Attention to detail is key.” Having
made such a substantial investment in her
employees, White puts a strong emphasis
on retention. “We try to have an enjoyable,
creative, dynamic work environment,” she
said. “The key to people being satisfied is
cross-training, people learning how to do
each other’s jobs, which provides more
flexibility for us, as well.”
Best Place in the World
White has a degree in electronics, having
decided when she was young that it was
a field, and an industry, with promise for
the future. “About 45 years ago, I decided
that White Salmon was the best place in
the world to live, so I moved here and
went to work for a company doing sales. I
learned the contract manufacturing business
from them. After a few years I was ready
for a new challenge and I started my own
business,” she recalled.
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NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS