Signs of the Times - August 2017 - 37

TIPS

For Success!
A Successful Hire
Lauretano has been a participant since the
beginning and has already hired one welder
who first connected with the company during
Sign Manufacturing Day.
Yaron realizes that one successful hire marks
the beginning of a relationship that can
continue to pay off as the happy employee
introduces friends and former classmates to
the career opportunities at Lauretano. It
also serves as a bridge to the school and its
instructors.
"We told him to bring in friends and spread
the word that we are hiring. We hope that he
will," Yaron said. Even on those rare occasions
when there aren't positions open, continuing
to raise the visibility of Lauretano is important.
"You may not need somebody right now, but
you will in the future," Yaron said. "The more
we are known and recognized, the easier it
will be."

Engaged Employees
Vantage LED participated for the first time in
2016 and found the event created a perfect
opportunity to work with the local community
of Ontario, Calif. "The city said, 'We have a
lot of skilled labor looking for these types of
jobs.' We thought it was a good opportunity
to show that we're a full-blown manufacturer
that also does software development, sales
and technical support. Bringing people in to
see what we do can help them see the career
opportunities here."
The city got on board, sending out information
about Sign Manufacturing Day to a variety
of area schools. "We had busloads brought
in," Ivan said. "Schools want to encourage
their kids to strive for something."

Vantage LED runs an alternate work schedule
and Friday is typically a day off. But the
company paid overtime to support the event.
Sales reps and managers served as tour
guides, taking small groups to stations to show
them what each specialized job requires.
"They could get a little taste of what we do
and the opportunities that are out there."
While some companies have used Sign
Manufacturing Day specifically to reach
trade schools, Vantage also started working
on a pipeline for engineers, bringing in middle
school students who specialized in science,
technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM) education.
The day has created important connections
with trade schools, too. "Now, whenever I
need somebody, I can reach out to see if they
have a student or alumni looking for work."
Plans are underway for this year's event,
with Vantage hoping to start on the marketing
earlier. "We'd like to double or triple the
attendance," Ivan said.
Participating in the event also provides a
great opportunity to showcase the strength of
manufacturing. "Everybody has this perception
that those jobs have gone overseas or are
lost to automation. But there are still plenty
of companies that need skilled labor, people
who have a passion and drive to create things
and make things work. These types of
events show this to the world and especially
to the younger community. These are things
that still exist." |

Sign Manufacturing Day will be October 6, 2017. To learn more about participating,
contact workforce@signs.org

Yaron Lew of Lauretano Sign Group
offers the following advice for
companies considering whether to
participate in Manufacturing Day and
how to gain the most benefits:
* Showcase a broad range of products
and introduce as many aspects of
the trade as possible. "Some of
the attendees might be interested
in graphic design while others will
be more interested in the manufacturing opportunities. The more
products you show them and the
more skills you showcase, the
more likely you are to strike a
nerve with someone. You have to
look at your facility through the eyes
of a young student just graduating
high school or technical school.
What will interest the younger
generation? We work in this industry every day, so we're not
thinking about it this way."
* Reach out to a broad range of
schools. "Think beyond the technical schools to include design
schools and high schools. Try to
have as many groups come
through and extend the day as
long as you need to, to accommodate them."
* Always invite the press and political
leaders at the local, state and federal
levels. "We always make sure that
we have high-level politicians come
in and speak to our employees
and the guests. That lends a lot of
credibility to the day, both with
those attending and with shop
employees. We also make sure
that we invite the press and get an
article in the newspaper or a news
story on TV after the day. My advice
is to tell the politicians that you're
running an event that supports
and promotes manufacturing in
America. This will always make
them flock to your shop."

STATS * FACTS
went unfilled in June, according to the Manufacturing Institute.
WWW.SIGNS.ORG * * *
http://WWW.SIGNS.ORG
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - August 2017
