Industry Relying on Educators to Fill Troubleshooter Shortages

The tune I most often saw and heard being sung by maintenance managers was the one about how they will not have anyone more knowledgeable, skilled and or experienced then themselves working under or with them so that their job and pay position would be less threatened.

That and the one about how it's not their job to know how to fix anything. It's there job to tell others to go and fix stuff with as little knowledge and support as they can get away with providing them.

There is a fix for that: A good pay scale, and a good working environment.

If you treat them like prison labor, and pay them like pimple faced kids asking "do you want fries with that", then you will not get or keep the good talent. Bugger off!

"...to replace retiring technicians who take their veteran insights with them..."

An insulting euphemism for "We laid them off, and now we're sorry; and when we asked them to work part time they told us to shove it."

Good luck teaching those millenials how to fix anything. Their ain't no app for it.

I would be surprised if Educators could do anything useful for troubleshooting.

There is an old saying that states "those who can't do, teach" and there is a lot of truth in that saying.

Not intending to insult any educators here but, I have found they have most of their example problems memorized and if you ask them a question they have never seen before they are often as confused as those they are trying to teach.

Troubleshooting skills are learned on the job not in a classroom with Educators who have never really tried to fix anything that was truly broke and not just sabotaged with some known preset issue that the teacher is aware of.

Shortage of skilled competitors is great for business but you end up doing some really basic shite. Makes it hard to retire or delegate when there's nobody to take over.

You can't teach experience.

You can teach basic electronics and physical properties of associated accessories like sensors, solenoids, hydraulics etc. You can teach commonly accepted methods of troubleshooting like linear, or half splitting.

But you can't teach all of the "other" that falls outside electronic troubleshooting. Like motor homing problems that occur from mechanical imperfections, system malfunctions created by an improperly trained machine operator, or what to do when a disgruntled former employee has taken system documentations with him and you can't find replacements, not even on google.

At my present job, when I started, a lot of the product I work on came without schematics. Subassemblies were provided by Asian manufacturers who refused to provide documentation to "protect" their circuit designs.

Slowly but surely I have created a database to pass on to whomever takes my job after I move up or on. Creating books and databases full of simple things like errors caused by dendrite growth or electrical clearance violations caused by poor manufacturing practices to tracking symptoms created by common component failures will give my successor a heads up so he/she can spend less time troubleshooting and more time designing regardless of his/her experience level.

In travel throughout north America to instruct distributors and larger end-user organizations, I often heard the complaint of a lack of skilled persons to service electro-mechanical equipment. When I suggested they look toward the returning servicemen and women as a source, I would get a vague response,"Um..oh yeah".

In casual conversation with the people responsible for hiring, I observed an underlying apprehensive attitude, one I suspect having to do with a certain mindset, or stereotypical image of a veteran. This, IMHO.

"In travel throughout north America to instruct distributors and larger end-user organizations, I often heard the complaint of a lack of skilled persons to service electro-mechanical equipment. When I suggested they look toward the returning servicemen and women as a source, I would get a vague response,"Um..oh yeah.

In casual conversation with the people responsible for hiring, I observed an underlying apprehensive attitude, one I suspect having to do with a certain mindset, or stereotypical image of a veteran. This, IMHO."

I am a Veteran. My military experience was heavy acoustics and robotics.

Every job that I REALLY wanted I have gotten. Mostly in engineering and R&D. I don't do production test bench very well at all.

However, when I first got out of the Navy, I applied for every tech job I found. Out of every 20 resumes I sent, I maybe got 2 interviews. I ended up first being a hotel store clerk and then a security guard while going to community college so I could subsidize my income with my GI Bill. Finally, when I received my Associate's Degree (in Fine Arts) I got my first tech job a month later.

I don't know what it is but I agree, I don't think very many high tech employers want to hire veterans right out of the military. But I feel they should because there is a LOT of talent among veterans. I for one, have EXCELLED at everything I've done since then. (although I do get bored after being in one place too long) Anybody with the basic skills can be taught any new industry in a very short amount of time. It's the white coat theory. Once you walk into the lab and put on the white coat, is when the magic happens.

"There is a fix for that: A good pay scale, and a good working environment."

In the 21+ years at my current job I've been paid 2 labor grades below the top scale because my job is considered "overhead". The working environment from the standpoint of management has for the most part, sucked. I have, fortunately, had supervisors who respected my talent or I would have been out of here. A fear mentality has been the prevalent policy.

I love what I do (taking care of 50-75 million dollars worth of machinery electronics), it is challenging and ever changing. I agree with the comment that you can't educate experience OR the personal desire to excel.

This company has periodically offered "voluntary separation programs" for older workers during slower times. That in actuality translated into "take this offer and run or you'll be on the layoff list later". The replacements are fresh out of school and paid less than half of the person they replaced. New hires are also likely to be minorities, more of Asian descent and unqualified.

Now let me assure you I don't care where your roots are from IF you are qualified, but that has been less than 30% here.

To those counting the beans, it's about the money regardless of qualification.

I could go on and on about the mistakes made for lack of experience, but I'm sure many of you have seen the same things. (And it's getting worse.)

I'm retiring this week and feel sorry for the folks who will have to deal with an uncaring and greedy upper management!

For my thirty five plus years working in the tobacco industry, mostly installing and troubleshooting machinery the techs have always been treated as a necessary evil. They want you to stay busy but they don't want you to work on anything because that means the machine may need to be up and down till its fixed. They complain that efficiencies are down but wont allow you to do your job during normal working hours. Then when the factory is down they want all the techs to work so you end up working 7 days a week while the rest of the plant enjoys their weekends and holidays.

From what I have experienced the people with the knowledge to make things perform are the most abused and overworked. You don't know how many times Ive heard good mechanical and electrical techs say they wish they could disqualified themselfs and go back to being machine operators. Normally the pay difference isnt enougth to justifie the abuse that techs have to tollerate to remain employed.

You have people order machines that have never been paired and exspect you to make things hum along when they dont even speak the same language. The mechanical connections are all at different levells and your told to just make it work and stick to the schedule.

I have had to modifie machines seperated by several generations to work together when the manufacture said it couldnt be done due to machine speeds or communcations being so different be we always came through. I am sure you have all heard the old saying, I have had to do so much with so little for so long that now I am qualified to do it all with nothing.

Well this is enougth rambling, maybe one day they will figure it out before its to late.