Page 39 - BusinessWest October 17, 2022

on the union side.”
Bobby Williams, a purchasing officer at M.L.
Schmitt, graduated from Putnam and is gratified to see more of its students become the future of his field. “Without our young, upcoming electri- cians, we won’t have a future workforce of skilled tradesmen and women.”
“These things might last decades or hundreds of years, and people will always see the product of what you did.”
Which is why Jackson is gratified by the con- tinued connection betweeen Putnam and area businesses. “These donations and visits from M.L. Schmitt let our students know they’re included,” he said. “It certainly motivates and keeps them encouraged about entering the trade.”
Michael Poole, who chairs the Electrical Department at Putnam, added that the donation gives students an opportunity to see and work with specialty items that they would otherwise not be able to afford. “It also shows them that the community cares about their future success in the electrical trade. I am grateful, and I know that our students are as well.”
First Steps on a Rewarding Path
Still, Asselin noted, with the manpower short- age, vocational schools can only put out so many students, which is why programs like Elm’s First
Steps Futures, is so important, as the company brings in young talent who might otherwise have never thought electrical work was something for them.
“I’ve got them for four days, so I get a pretty good idea what kind of student and what kind of employee they may be. It was really eye-opening for us to see the quality of some of the students out there,” he said. “Some kids who go to a tra- ditional high school or some other alternative school think they can’t go into a trade because they didn’t go to trade school. That’s not the case. Companies like ours will train them both in the classroom and hands-on. We have that ability to get them up to the same level as, say, a vocational student that went through a three-year vocation- al program.”
Moving forward, Asselin said Elm might open the week-long program to veterans looking to get into a trade. “It’s a different way to approach the problem.”
But Elm University itself, where current employees skill up for better career opportuni- ties, has been a crucial element, he added. “This is what we should have done a long time ago. We kind of had our hand forced because certain jobs require traveling, guys are out of town for a week, and it’s hard to be in school during the week and also be at work. Now, they can travel during the week and get back for class.
“This is a great option for those who don’t want to have to go to night school,” he added. “In four years, students will be ready to sit for their exam to be licensed electricians. Adding our First Steps Futures program to our Elm U program really allows us to groom our future workforce from the very beginning.”
Offering young people pathways into a career is important, but so is showing them how much satisfaction can be found in the work.
“Really, it’s a tangible thing. I tell students, there is a tangible output from what you do,” Crevier said, adding that he tells students about area jobs his company has worked on, from Union Station to the light and visual displays at Thunderbirds games to hospitals, which rely on electrical networks to save lives. “These things might last decades or hundreds of years, and people will always see the product of what you did. Kids today have never thought about that aspect before.
“We can all find people,” he added. “It’s a mat- ter of finding qualified candidates who have the initiative, the drive, and the desire to differentiate themselves and be leaders. Too many people in the workforce today are complacent to show up and participate and don’t want to do more.”
But Schmitt, a company that’s been around for 99 years and doesn’t plan on going anywhere, won’t always have Crevier and his team at the helm, so a job there, as at many companies, is a chance to grow into higher roles.
“We’re not going to be here for 30 years, but we’re looking at the next 30, 40, 50 years, and even beyond that,” he said. “There’s always an opportunity for the right individual.”
At a time when electrical and all other build- ing trades are scrambling to find talent and restock an aging workforce, it’s just one more fac- tor that might draw a Gen-Z student to a career he or she might never have considered before. u
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
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