People. Performance. Solutions. Austin Industrial is a company founded on the principles of offering world-class service with best-in-industry safety performance. We are the people. We provide the performance. We find and implement the solutions. Austin Industrial is a 100-percent employee-owned company; this gives each person a stake in the success of a company as a whole. Because each employee-owner’s success directly affects the success of the company, Austin Industrial delivers the highest quality and performance to our customers. These key drivers are just the beginning of the story that sets Austin Industrial apart within the industry. As we look forward, we have identified needs that will affect not only Austin Industrial’s ability to perform work but concern the industry as a whole. The biggest issue facing the industry is the labor shortage that has been growing worse by the year. Each year, organizations such as ours survey the labor landscape and each year the results show the future becoming more desperate. The lack of available talent and the lack of skilled talent will continue to affect the industry over the years to come.
The need: Next generation work force
As a company, Austin Industrial provides the people needed to carry out work in the oil, gas, chemical, manufacturing, pulp and paper, energy and power market segments. People are our business, and Austin Industrial has thousands of employee-owners who take pride in their work and their ability to provide world-class service to our customers. The challenge the industry has seen evolve since the 1990s is the increasing labor shortage that continues to grow larger each year.
In an NCCER survey, at least 40 percent of employers reported experiencing continual difficulty filling vacant positions due to the lack of available talent. Here in the U.S. we are well above the average for the percentage of difficulty filling available vacancies. Feeling the impact of the growing labor shortage, Austin Industrial shared involvement in the formation of the Construction Careers Youth Committee, which is a joint effort among Associated Builders and Contractors, Construction & Maintenance Education Foundation and Houston Business Roundtable. This program has been designed to use the NCCER curriculum within select career and technical education (CTE) classes in 24 Houston area school districts.
Austin Industrial has continued to support similar deployment of NCCER curriculum into high school programs throughout the Gulf Coast and in the Southeast. These programs provide a unique foundation to the work force of the future, preparing them to enter the industry directly following high school with knowledge and often with internships that include hands-on craft training. Knowing there are options to enter the work force is inspiring to young people who for many reasons may not be on a four-year university track. The task of implementing these programs and keeping them successful is large and requires industry-wide involvement.
Real-life training: Nurturing hands-on skills
Austin Industrial, in conjunction with our customers, has partnered with several area school districts and their CTE programs in an effort to be personally involved in the development of these high school students. Keeping these programs active and energized is not on the shoulders of the CTE instructors alone. Austin Industrial employee-owners also commit their time and experience to the effort. Each CTE program is guided by a steering team comprised of the CTE director, Austin employee-owners, customer representatives and additional CTE leaders, staff or sponsors. This team of individuals, and their combined experience and leadership, ensures the students get the most benefit from their time spent in the CTE programs. The programs are not supported by the volunteer effort alone. Materials, equipment and PPE are also donated to the programs so hands-on learning can be facilitated in the classroom.
Through this process, students are introduced to the skills necessary for them to be successful in several potential crafts. Practice of these skills in the classroom is the first step toward pursuing a career in the industry while offering the freedom to try multiple crafts and skills. Jaimie Acosta, an Austin employee-owner and recent high school graduate who participated in CTE courses, said, “The classes taught us about the types of work and people in this type of work. The program really helped me figure out what work I wanted to pursue; it was helpful to lead me in the right direction.” The Construction Careers Youth Committee promotes use of the NCCER curriculum in these programs, allowing students to get a head start in craft training. Students participating in CTE courses have the opportunity to finish 72 hours of NCCER core curriculum.
Upon completion, the students receive a certificate of completion and a transcript of the modules completed. One of the biggest issues employers face when looking at the massive labor shortage facing the industry is the lack of skilled craft workers with enough hands-on training to perform at the highest levels of safety and quality. These students have a head start, attaining the knowledge and hands-on craft training that will be invaluable as they enter the industry and continue to grow in their profession.
Leading industry in work force development
Employers throughout the industry face difficulties filling positions for a myriad of reasons but largely due to the following three issues, according to an NCCER talent shortage survey:
- Lack of applicant
- Lack of technical competencies
- Lack of experience
These issues are compounded by the magnitude of the shortage that will be experienced in the coming years. There is not just a shortage of craft workers; it’s an industry-wide labor shortage including skilled crafts, supervisory and management positions. Additionally, according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than 10 percent of workers within the industry complete a formal apprenticeship program. Of the 7 million workers, that means less than 700,000 people have been formally trained in their crafts.
Austin Industrial has programs put in place to help develop the hands-on skills of the next generation’s work force. These programs focus on facilitating training for craft workers who have no previous training or certification. Austin Industrial understands the importance of formal craft training and places great importance on developing our employee-owners for long-term success. Success in work force development for Austin Industrial employee-owners comes from many resources. Austin Industrial offers and facilitates employee-owner participation in Construction & Maintenance Education course programs, which can be completed in the classroom, through self-study or instructor-led study before taking the NCCER curriculum assessment.
Austin Industrial also offers additional incentives such as tuition reimbursement to existing employee-owners because training and certification are so important for the next generation’s work force. Austin Industrial employee-owners not only have opportunities to succeed in the Gulf Coast and across the country, but Austin continues regional diversification efforts and growth. Austin Industrial continues engagement in high school CTE programs, offering opportunities for students to intern at customer facilities. These opportunities allow students to be better prepared for a craft position and offers invaluable hands-on training.
Each year, new Austin employee-owners have been employed as a result of their involvement in CTE programs, and many have participated in internships with customer facilities. The importance of work force development resonates on a personal level for Austin Industrial President Barry Babyak who said, “I cannot stress enough how important working with high school CTE programs is to Austin Industrial. We believe in offering world-class service with impeccable safety performance, and our employee-owners believe the same. Working with CTE programs gives us a chance to interact with the next generation’s work force and shows them why we believe in the values of integrity, safety, service and employee ownership.”
Continuing and strengthening our engagements in the effort to prepare the next generation’s work force for long-term success is a large task that continues to grow each year with the increasing labor shortage. Austin Industrial is committed to work force development and participation in efforts to grow the industry.
This article was written by Austin Industrial Marketing Manager Kristen Hunter.
For more information, visit www.austinindustrial.com or call (713) 641-3400.
