SAGINAW CO. -- Are you ready for a career change but don’t want to sit around an office? Job experts tell us there are plenty of local good-paying jobs right now in an unlikely place.
Skilled trades workers are in high demand, leading some to refer to a “blue collar renaissance”.
The perception among jobs seekers involves a common complaint. “I think it’s tough to find a job”, says Mikaela Burch of Centerline. But it doesn’t have to be. Despite the high unemployment rate, some companies are having a hard time finding blue collar workers.
Some local companies say, wait a minute. Forget all the talk about a lousy economy, we’re hiring.
Mindy Yancer of Merrill Technologies says, “we’re looking for people. They don’t seem to think there are blue collar jobs”.
So what happened? Where are all the skilled workers? Mindy says, “when the economy went down, they left the state. A spokeswoman for a Clare company agrees.
According to Chris Hubel of JD Metalworks, “most left the state when the economy turned”. Clare-based J-D Metalworks has jobs. Chris says “we can hire as many welders as we can find, ramping up our second shift and paying between 12 to 15 dollars an hour. If you’re interested in one of those jobs, check out their website at www.jdmetalworks.com.
Same story at Saginaw-based Merrill Technologies Group. If you’re interested in one of their jobs, you can apply at hr@merrilltg.com. Mindy says, “we have lots of job openings for skilled machinists and welders”. Key word there is skilled.
Alicia Booker of Career Alliance says there is a move to more high tech jobs. Some mechanics have engineering degrees. So the level of skills is higher. Booker says these days before you get a job, you have to have a skill. According to Booker, the real story here is, there’s not a jobs shortage. There’s a skills shortage.
