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Machinists’ jobs look to stay strong

JANESVILLE — For laid-off workers or those looking to change jobs, a local, lateral move in the unskilled labor force isn’t in the cards in Rock County, said Cindy Harrington, branch manager of Manpower, 20 S. Main St., Janesville.

“Those jobs are gone at that level,” Harrington said, talking about jobs paying $18 an hour or more at places such as General Motors and Lear. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that.”

But she was just as confident that other types of jobs would be viable in the foreseeable future.

“Anything in the skilled trades,” Harrington said, when asked what jobs people could expect to find in the Janesville area.

That list includes work in “any manufacturing facility controlled by a computer,” Harrington said, control—or CNC—machinists, lathe or mill operators or maintenance technicians.

As far as skilled trades in the construction field, options are a mixed bag right now, Harrington said. Things look better for electricians, for example, who can fix and program machines rather than those who might wire houses.

Of course, if you look north, the building industry is strong, particularly in commercial construction, Harrington said.

“All you have to do is go to Madison and look at all the cranes,” Harrington said.

Some of the other choices on the state Department of Workforce Development list of the 25 top paying, top hiring jobs in Wisconsin matched what Harrington sees in the Janesville area.

Registered nurses and truck drivers topped the state’s list, and Harrington agreed.

Sales representatives came in third, and Harrington said that’s a field that always has openings because turnover is high. Some people find out they’re not cut out for sales while others move to inside sales or into management positions, Harrington said.

Companies always are looking for secretaries and administrative assistants, although locally that market isn’t terribly strong, Harrington said. Companies often cross-train workers to do those jobs, and assistants often are hired from within, she said.

Retail sales management made the state’s top 10, but Harrington doesn’t see that as a very viable option in Janesville.

“When GM closes, after the safety net has gone away, people will be cutting back, not spending much money,” Harrington said. “That’s what’s going to be hurting.”

Demand for nurses expected to rise

It’s listed as the “hottest” job in Wisconsin through 2016.

But don’t expect to rush out and become a registered nurse in an instant.

The state Department of Workforce Development expects to see 21,800 openings for nurses in Wisconsin through 2016. That’s the highest number of openings on a list of 25 career choices that includes 926,600 total openings.

Waiting lists might be long to get the specialized classes needed to become a nurse.

Sarah Carek, 25, of Sun Prairie is one of the newest nurses in the industry. She’s worked at Edgerton Hospital and Health Services for two months after graduating in May with a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Alverno College, Milwaukee.

“Getting your general studies is easy,” Carek said. “But getting into a nursing program … it’s really hard.”

One problem is a shortage of people leaving the nursing field to teach new nurses, creating a shortage of classes, Carek said.

Carek was going to school for graphic design when she realized it was more of a hobby than a career choice.

“I had to work with people,” she said.

Carek works 12-hour shifts three days a week with two other nurses to care for up to 10 patients on the Acute Care floor at the hospital. Her goal is to spend as much time in each patient’s room as possible, chatting with them and making them comfortable.

“I think, ‘What would I want if that was my mother, my grandmother?’” Carek said.

The No. 1 skill needed to be a good nurse is organization, Carek said. Carek designed her own “to do” list she keeps in her pocket and color codes to her own liking.

“Everyone has their own way,” Carek said. “That way, when something happens—and it always does—you’ve got your base.”

Nurses sometimes act like translators between doctors, patients and their families, Carek said.

“You have to be skilled in translating things into layman’s terms,” Carek said. “You have to know how people would want it communicated.”

Steps required to land training money at job center

The blue folders are everywhere in Rock County.

You might have a couple at your house, and you’ve probably seen them at a friend’s.

They’re the folders from the Rock County Job Center, which has been passing them out en masse during group orientation sessions for people getting laid off from places such as Janesville’s General Motors plant or Lear Corp.

Other workers picked them up when they got laid off from smaller local companies.

The folders, filled with information for dislocated workers who want to go back to school, are free for everyone who needs them.

The choice is yours to use them.

The state has applied for grant money to pay for training dislocated workers who want to better their chances at finding a new career or a similar job with different skills.

If you’ve been laid off, you might have access to that money for things such as tuition, books, childcare or housing assistance.

But you have to follow two very important steps to get the money, said Geoff Upperton with the Labor Education and Training Center at the job center.

1. Call the resource room at the job center at (608) 741-3400 and tell them where you worked when you were laid off.

2. Follow the directions the job center gives you on a handy checklist.

It might seem like a long list of things to check off before you get to class—among other things you’ll take an assessment, attend a workshop and meet with a caseworker.

But those are the rules, Upperton said.

“People tend to try and shortcut,” Upperton said. “They make it harder for themselves.”

The people who have so far enrolled in the program have career interests “all over the map,” said Julie Funk, Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Labor Education and Training Center program coordinator.

Some are looking for a lateral move in the manufacturing industry. Others are looking at nursing, criminal justice or management, Funk said.

Caseworkers will help find the best choice for you, she said.

“We counsel (dislocated workers,) but ultimately it’s their decision,” Funk said.

Jobs are out there, but the dislocated worker program is not an entitlement program, Upperton said. It’s going to take some work and an open mind to find a new job, he said.

“It’s a difficult situation,” Upperton said. “I think people need to prepare for a lot of other things. Sometimes they’re going to have to travel, depending on the occupation or what skills they have.”

Upperton said his staff understands. Most of the 48 people that work for the AFL-CIO throughout the state were at one time displaced workers themselves, he said.

Along with an open mind, a good work attitude will be crucial for workers looking for new careers and jobs, said Cindy Harrington, branch manager at Manpower, 20 S. Main, Janesville.

Not everybody is college material, Harrington said. But you don’t have to have a college degree to listen to your boss and follow directions, get to work on time and be a team player, she said.

“You have to be adaptable,” Harrington said. “Our whole world of work is changing and evolving with new technology. I like that companies are looking at (potential employees’) personalities. Can you work as a team but still work independently but still get the work done?”

HOT JOBS

The state Department of Workforce Development says Wisconsin’s 10 hottest careers—those with high pay and many openings—through 2016 will be:

1. Registered Nursing. Openings: 21,800; hourly wage: $26.97; education needed: associate or bachelor’s degree.

2. Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer. Openings: 15,200; hourly wage: $17.48; education needed: moderate-term, on-the-job training.

3. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, excluding technical and scientific products. Openings: 11,000; hourly wage: $24.79; education needed: work experience in a related occupation.

4. Elementary school teachers, except special education. Openings: 9,600; annual salary: $45,110; education needed: bachelor’s degree.

5. Executive secretaries and administrative assistants. Openings: 8,800; hourly wage $16.51; education needed: work experience in a related occupation.

6. Accountants and auditors. Openings: 7,700; hourly wage: $25.75; education needed: bachelor’s degree.

7. Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education. Openings: 7,300; annual salary: $45,820; education needed: bachelor’s degree.

8. Carpenters. Openings: 7,000; hourly wage: $17.59; education needed: long-term, on-the-job training.

9. General and operations managers. Openings: 6,600; hourly wage: $41.16; education needed: bachelor’s degree or higher plus work experience.

10. First-line supervisors or managers of retail sales workers. Openings: 6,300; hourly wage: $16.30; education needed: work experience in a related occupation.