Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Despite the high unemployment rate in the United States, Catepillar’s CEO says there is a desparate shortage of skilled workers, and many job vacancies are going unfilled in some of the most depressed regions of the country.
“I talked to one of our great customers in Detroit. I spent some time with our distributors. They have 50 job openings today that they cannot fill, and guess what they are. They are service technician jobs,” says Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar. He was interviewed by CNBC on Friday.
“These are pretty technical jobs, lots of electronics, guys that go out and fix our construction equipment when it breaks down.”
Detroit has suffered during the economic downturn which hit the manufacturing and construction sector hard. Huffington Post reported that the unemployment rate may be as high as 50% in the city.
Despite the bad economic outlook in the U.S., Caterpillar has been hiring. It picked up 10,000 people in the last 18 months, and 300 in the first weeks of August.
“Everyday we are hiring because our business is picking up our export business is picking up. Even the U.S. as weak as the macroeconomic number for our business where we have seen such an inventory depletion in construction equipment across the country we are seeing some build back.”
20 Comments
Biddulph Art
It really bad people do not understand that a mechanic technician job would aford them
a very good living.
I think the .com and feel good generations are in for a rude awakening
My generation had to work for what we have and so should they.
arty.
GeoGibran
It’s not a young adult or highschool’ers job to know all the potential areas that one should go into with respect to careers. That is a failure of education system, government, and the U.S. manufacturing sector. When you are a controller of your economic fate as a nation, you always prepare the next generations ready to fill the anticipated needs. All they talk about is IT and health care in Michigan. They have no intentions of getting young people ready for future secondary level work as mentioned earlier. The new groups are those that know and those that don’t know. I have university degree but let young people I encounter know that certain trade areas related to energy are growing. If I were to start a school our program it would cover all the hidden areas that have long term a global requirement to continued development of the world.
jimr1
I have been a tradesman for nearly 40 years and have observed the making of this problem by employers and governments. For many years the solution was to let Europe, China and England supply the skilled trade to North America. Very little training has been done to develop a skilled trades work force here. The school systems and media labelled two classes of people, those wishing to go to University as elite and all others as something of a lessor spicies.
I guess Mr. Caterpillar is reaping what he sewed.
How many people is Caterpillar training or is this just crying and hoping than some other country will train the future service techs?
Distow2
They are making it easier and easier to become a trades person with less hour or years to become certified so it’s no wonder “unqualified” certified individuals are showing up all over in the trades
Rudi
The writing is on the wall. USA is a first world country with a well developed tertiary sector. The primary sector and secondary sector (CAT’s industry) is more conducive in developing countries rather. If the USA population don’t wake up and realise that they compete with the population of the gloabla village, then CAT could move their business to Asian countries emerging as manufacturing giants. Ultimately the USA will loose.
Bullwinkle
I hope that Caterpillar actually looks at the reviews here. Cat has forgot to train in its steady period and let people grow old with out training the comunity around themselves. I work in the mining industry in Australia and there are many companies that cry poor. But look at the amount of apprentices that they put on, at most a dozen! (and thats a entire states branch network) 30 years ago they were putting on 30 apprentices per branch. But that generation is getting old and moving away from the trade. So, it is true Mr Oberhelman, your company has not done enough to sustain itself and now you are feeling the pinch. There is no one at all to blame but your own greed. As you sit there in your suit, I wonder when the last time it is that you got filthy from oil, grease and coal dust?
Gabriel Bandiera
BUENOS DIAS , A DIARIO ME LLEGA AMI CORREO LA REVISTA YME INTERESO LA NOTA , ESPOR ESO Q ESTOY ESCRIBIENDO EN ESTE BLOOG, SOY DE ARGENTINA Y TRABAJE PARA FINING SOY TECNICO CATERPILLAR ME INTERESARIA TRABAJAR EN EE.UU CONOSCO LOS EQUIPOS CATERPILLLAR MI MAIL [email protected] DESDE YA MUCHAS GRACIAS
Canwestmachinery
After 50 years in the various trades ,certified in 4, I find that young people today do not want to get their hands dirty. Their idea of work seems to be keyboarding or other type of computer work. The trades have to be filled. Lets start working with the young people and show them how to get down and dirty. Dont worry young people. It will wash off!
Timekeeeper
I’ve been a mechanic for 30 years. Currently working in an underground hard rock mine. We work on all brands and have to know electronic, hydraulic, engines, the whole works. We also can’t seen to find any ‘young’ people who want to lear the trade. They all want to earn what I earn from day one, even though they can’t even find the dipstick! As for training, good luck. On the job training anymore means the supervisor (who never was a mechanic) gives the new guy the service manual and says figure it out………….or go bug the older guys who are trying to get something done.
TheEngineer
1) Does CAT have an apprenticeship program, like the USA did when the USA was governed and managed decently – in the past.
2) Does a CAT ‘tradesmen’ still qualify to service a BR-549-B device (made in China) when he only has experience with a BR-5R49-A device (made in Milwaukee)?
3) How many tradesmen over 55 does CAT hire, and how many does CAT NOT hire?
4) What kinds of relocation package? How does somebody from Muskegon move to Lake Orion if he can’t sell his his home in Muskegon and his wife has a job there, likely in nursing, and makes more than he will in Lake Orion?
5) Bottom Line: Train Them, Pay Them, act like you will Keep Them, Change the Rules of Capitalist Pig Globalism so that you can Keep Them, and they will come.
6) And if they still don’t, then round them up and put them to work in a forced labor camp until they learn what you want them to – otherwise, the 1,000,000 of 4,000,000 of them who are dropping out of high school every year and arming themselves like Mexican cartels, will be the least of your worries.
TheEngineer
The head cheeze (don’t remember his exact title) at The Harvard University James Baker Center (or similar) had written that the USA has educated too many Financial Engineers and too few “REAL” Engineers. The similar has been done across ‘American Society’ – no training, respect, or appreciation for “REAL” work, work that matters. You (if the shoe fits) have glorified the (mostly black) athlete to the height of gods, along with rappers, entertainers, and computer imbeciles at Microsoft who still can’t get email to work after 30 yrs of development (good thing they don’t build nuclear power plants), along with their ‘gamers’. Young ‘men’ are rewarded financially, and socially (with your daughters) when they can’t even spell Programmable Logic Controller, Servo Mechanism, or Electric Over Hydraulics, let alone understand that they wouldn’t have electricity for all their entertainment crap if not for these critical machine components. You sew what you reap, and if you’re going to have men marry men, golfers and rappers becoming billionaires, and 98 lb weaklings playing video ames with beautiful young women who scorn a ‘real’ man when he has to go to work when she has her day off from her credit card call center “career”, what do you expect you’re going to get?
Forrester Lisa Juergens
i am 45 years old pro painter for 20+ years, a year and half ago i got hired at mohave desert minerals as a weekend security guy. i knew nothing about mining, in that time i volunteered for every crap job that i could, now i am a strip process operator. no one want to work to achieve they all expect it to be handed to them with minimum effort!!! HARD WORK AND EFFORT ARE STILL REWARDED!!! loving my new CAREER. all those whinny spoilt people made it easy for me.
Lutymech
Caterpillar is making it possible for thousands of young people to have well paying very technical careers. Their technical training and information is the best in the industry. I joined the biggest Cat dealer in the world because of the support and challenges available. Yes, the trades world have not been supported. Yeah. Blue collar is nothing like my fathers work. Great income, travel, retirement programs,training, and career advancement.
didier
Good evening, I’m technical and work in Colombia Caterpillar dealer for 5 years Gecolsa workshops crc, I was trained for 6 months in the same company, now live in the U.S. with my family and wanted to continue my work which I love it if someone can advise me how to get a job at Caterpillar would appreciate it .. can contact me email [email protected].
Wpmjv
HI I am 42 years can some one please help me.live in S.A and looking for a work in the mining ind.Im hard working and have exp in petrol and diesel ( 10 j) control room (8 j) if some one can help me pleas.I will go anywhere. MY EMAIL [email protected] CEL 072 850 2911
Robertggroves76
i am a 35 yr old pipe fitter on a welding and pipe fitting gang all my lads are sat about at moment as there are no big projects been taken up in england?we’ll go do what needs doing?haha
Vshnu Sreenivasan
I have a three year diploma in instrument technology and I am searching for work as a trainee in any where in INDIA. Iam 21 years of age and i’m willing to do any hard work.
Jlps Joseplaza
hola tengo 33 años soy tecnico electromecanico actualmente estoy trabajando para una empresa contratista en minera escondida, parte de mi experiencia en maquinaria de alto tonelaje es camiones 777f en empresa ameco en minera escondida, 793 b,c,d, ademas de cargadores frontales 994 d,f, en minera candelaria por empresa serpro finning, ademas de la amplia gama de movimiento de tierra con maquinaria volvo, caterpillar, jhon deere, komatzu, new holland, jbc, excavadoras, retroescavadoras, minicargadores, cargadores frontales, bulldozer d8 d9. he estado prestado mis servicios en mineras como mantos de oro, maricunga, candelaria, escondida, carmen de andacollo, franke, enami. bueno espero concordar con el perfil que se necesita, en caso de de ser asi mi correo es [email protected].
Luis granados
ok, do you hire people with residency status???
Jpomiermedina
BUENOS DIAS , HOY ME ENTERO DE ESTA INFORMACION QUE ME LLEGA A MI CORREO Y LA NOTA DE LA REVISTA ME INTERESO, ESTOY INTERESADO EN ESTE BLOOG, SOY DE PERU Y TRABAJO PARA FERREYROS SOY TECNICO CATERPILLAR ME INTERESARIA TRABAJAR EN EE.UU CONOSCO LOS EQUIPOS CATERPILLLAR MI MAIL [email protected] DESDE YA MUCHAS GRACIAS