Editorial

The press release on my desk this morning said, "The (precision metal working) industry cannot attract enough qualified applicants. As many as 1,500 jobs a year (in the Chicago are alone) are going unfilled." So what else is new? That's just hard proof confirming the suspicion many of us have had for some time. Some of the best, most qualified and experienced people in our shops are reaching retirement age, and there's no one around to fill their spots. And, if the situation is bad in the metal working trades in general, it's even more critical in the gearing industry. Being small and highly specialized, gear manufacturing attracts even less attention and finds recruitment harder than the other precision metal trades.