CONNECTICUT CENTER FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY (CCAT) AND ADVANCED MANUFACTURING EMPLOYER PARTNERSHIP (AMEP) HOST AN INDUSTRY AMBASSADOR WEBINAR!
Thanks to the strides spearheaded by our Human Resource Director, Peter Egan, throughout his career; Carey Manufacturing is a respected industry leader for workforce recruitment and retention efforts. It all started with identifying the problem of an aging workforce and as Pete phrases it, “we had a veteran team but no bench.” It was then that he started cultivating relationships with local recruitment sources from community colleges, technical high schools and organizations like Hartford Job Corps. As he began this process, he recognized that finding young employees would create a shift in the culture of our business; with veteran employees mentoring the up-and-coming industry workforce. When asked about our single best recruiting tool, Pete explained that it was the tours that we host and getting students out onto the shop floor that made the largest immediate impact. This gives the students a chance to notice a clean work environment and also see themselves in our diverse workforce.
Seeing other young adults on the floor shows them that it is possible to achieve the same things and be in those shoes in just a few years. This also gives everyone on our team an opportunity to share their stories and inspire others. Pete then shared, that those tours transition to a lot of internship opportunities as the first step to hire new and young employees. The panel then discussed the turnover rate of young employees, noting that many move on to other companies, in which Pete expressed a refreshing point of view:
Keeping people in the manufacturing industry is truly how you win, even if we just give them their start. The goal is to use Carey Manufacturing to inspire others.
Lastly, we closed out with some kind words from AMEP co-chair and CFO at local manufacturer Wepco Plastics Inc., Charles Daniels, who stated that Carey Manufacturing has recruited a number of superstars who went on to receive national attention as industry ambassadors. He continued to state that in addition to our young manufacturer’s demonstrated maturity and amazing talent, their resumes alone can inspire those who are looking into what you can accomplish in this industry!