Your first article is contradictory. First it claims that ceo's want secretaries with college degrees? and then it claims at the bottom college degrees are inadequate. Which is it as it does not specify. The whole article looks more like a USMB message post. What the hell is "middle skill worker"? And what kind of skills are they looking for? Are they actually looking to pay a worker for the skills they want the worker to do? Again the article looks like a USMB post.
In your second link it states what was has always been well known;
"The executives see developing their workforces as the most effective way to remedy the problem, with 94 percent agreeing internal employee training and development programs are among the
most effective skilled production workforce development
strategies, and 72 percent agreeing involvement with local
schools and community colleges is effective. This reflects
an understanding of the multidimensional nature of the
skills gap as manufacturers see the need to develop the
talent pipeline both in their companies and communities" If you want specialized workers you train them yourself. Also those workers have to be paid enough to live in a decent manner in order to stay working for you.
Gotta love the quote in the 60 minutes one. If you don't have writing skills you must not be worth a shit as a machinist. Really? If someone can read, has excellent math skills, can write with expertise and has IT skills why should they take a job working as a machinist for less than they can make using their math, writing and IT skills? It does not require excellent writing skills to be a machinist. It does however take enough common sense, skills and knowledge to understand how to set up a machine and be able to use a micrometer. Not every idiot can do every job. If they are truly willing to pay a decent wage it sounds more like to me that your managers, ceo's and boards are lacking in skills to put together teams to recruit and keep these factories working. Maybe the ceo's and board members should look at cutting their own perks and golden parachutes if they cannot keep the shit together enough to run these companies. They have passed the same ole ceo's around to all these bigger companies and the cluster **** just keeps getting deeper.
Too funny its been a few short years ago idiots with big mouths on here were saying it didn't take "any brains" to twist a bolt. Now you have something totally opposite coming out and I see those same people now whining because people are collecting too many food stamps and using too many government programs to survive. My goodness the people with all the answers will need to make up their minds.
No one that has the ability to skillfully do the so called "idiot jobs" that skullpilot and others were bashing a few years back is going to put up with the bullshit of what some of these companies think they should for little of nothing.
Is that what you think a machinist does? Just "set up a machine" and "use a micrometer"?
I do design machined parts, but I have never run a CNC machine. When I have questions, I go to a machinist and ask for their help from their personal experience from a complex and difficult job.
First, using tools. Carbon or hardened steel? Hardened tips or diamond encrusted?
Types of material used. Following tolerances when machining kynar, 300 series stainless, 316 stainless, copper, brass, zinc and so on. The tools deflect depending on the hardness of the materials being machined. How does that translate into tolerances.
Using the tools to measure the finished parts. Some parts, like for medical devices, have a tolerance of +0.00000 and -0.000003 - you can't measure that with a micrometer. You need a tiny, almost microscopic ball on the end of a sensor connected to a specialized computer program. Or a laser measurement device.
Being able to spot problems the customer is making and working with them to correct the problems, whether it's aerospace, medical equipment, automotive or other specialized parts.
Taking extremely complex and layered parts, translating them into 3d and programming along with surface characteristics, required knurls, grooves and making sure tools will be able to fit an assembly and recommending torque for the user's tools.
Machinists today don't work so much on a lathe and a drill press.
If you think it's easy programming a part like this:
or this:
You are out of your ******* mind.
And I'm not a machinist. I know how to design the parts, but making them, I leave to the experts and I take their advice. Always. I may not use it, but I always listen. Fools don't listen.
A micrometer and and basic math skills indeed.