Astec holds job fair with Ridgeland students for harder-to-fill manufacturing posts

Ridgeland High School students Dallas Dempsey, Robert Murray and Noah Goodson, from left, talk with controls engineer Matt Chapman at Astec Inc., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016 during a job fair.
Ridgeland High School students Dallas Dempsey, Robert Murray and Noah Goodson, from left, talk with controls engineer Matt Chapman at Astec Inc., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016 during a job fair.

Nothing against fast food.... This introduces them to what a career looks like. It gives them choices.

photo Ridgeland High School students Jacob Rogers, Draven Chapman and Xavier Meyer look at equipment models at Astec Inc., Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016 during a job fair.

By the numbers

600,000 Number of unfilled manufacturing job openings in the U.S.74 Percent of manufacturing survey respondents saying that workforce shortages or skills deficiencies in production significantly impact plans to expand operations or improve productivity.28 Percent of employees at airplane-maker Boeing Corp. who are older than 55 and eligible for retirement.Source: “The Future of the Manufacturing Workforce” by Manpower

Ridgeland High School senior Blaine Sharp was checking out the Astec Inc. job fair and expressed interest in working as a welder for the Chattanooga asphalt plant equipment maker.

"They have plans for you to build up a career," he said about Astec, adding that welders "make good money."

About 120 Ridgeland students last week took part in the job fair to learn about potential careers in manufacturing as the company seeks to hire workers for posts becoming increasingly hard to fill.

A study by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute said there are as many as 600,000 unfilled manufacturing job openings in the U.S. Most of these jobs are for skilled production workers in roles like machinists, operators, craft workers, distributors and technicians. The jobs often require specialized training and certification.

Malcolm Swanson, president of the Astec Inc. subsidiary of parent Astec Industries, said that finding solid employees to support the growing company is challenging.

To that end, Swanson said Astec connected with the Want To Foundation, a Chattanooga entity that aims to help youth set goals and pursue them through mentorships with professionals. The foundation helped set up the job fair.

Paul Shelton, Astec's director of advertising, said the job fair was a first of its kind for Astec Inc., which employs about 700 people in Chattanooga.

"We've had trouble hiring manufacturing people," he said.

Gary Highfield, foundation founder and president, said his goal is to locate 100 companies to work with. He said the foundation also is talking with carpet-maker Shaw Industries and other businesses.

Many of the students the foundation works with come from single-parent homes and don't know how to hook up with companies such as Astec, Highfield said.

"We bring the kids together with companies," he said.

Damon Raines, Walker County, Ga., school superintendent, said the job fair was designed to encourage students to think about career pathways.

Students often aren't prepared to enter the workforce when they leave high school, and they may not know about careers like those offered by companies such as Astec, he said.

"Nothing against fast food. This introduces them to what a career looks like," Raines said. "It gives them choices."

Shelton said Astec decided to engage with schools to let more people know about the company. Other businesses in Astec Industries' family, Roadtec and Heatec, had a presence at the job fair in addition to various departments within Astec Inc.

"We're still here," Shelton said about the billion-dollar business founded by the late J. Don Brock in 1972.

Brock, who died in 2015, started Astec Industries on a $120,000 bet with a friend over who could engineer a faster way to dry carpet. Brock won the bet, inventing what was then the fastest carpet-drying machine in existence.

He graduated from carpet to producing giant machines that make and lay down asphalt and concrete, among other ventures. When Brock died, he had laid claim to 100 patents and created a business that employs 4,000 workers across the globe.

Brock's son, Ben, took over as chief executive of Astec Industries in 2014.

Highland, whose foundation also is working with East Ridge High School and Ivy Academy, said he's finding that students "have the want-to and drive" but often "have no earthly idea" how land a job.

Ridgeland 12th grader Cameron Stephens, who attended the job fair, said he might attend Chattanooga State Community College after high school. There, he said, he could get a degree in welding, which could help him work at Astec.

Dallas Dempsey, another student, said he has been accepted into the U.S. Air Force, and working at Astec could be a possibility after the service.

"It's a good, strong company," he said. "It's not going away anytime soon."

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

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