Manufacturing panel discusses keys to revitalizing a struggling workforce

Daily Record Staff//October 12, 2017//

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From left, Mike Galiazzo, president of the Regional Manufacturing Institute; Benjamin Gibbs, co-founder and CEO of READY Robotics Corporation; and Ed Mullin, CTO of SC&H Group, attended the manufacturing focused panel discussion. (Photo courtesy of SC&H Group)

Jen Strobel, left, the vice president of human resources at Flagger Force, and Renee Evans, the human resources manager at Pompeian Inc., enjoy their time at the SC&H Group-sponsored panel discussion on manufacturing. (Photo courtesy of SC&H Group)

From left, Jeff Shay, the chief financial officer of FR Conversions; Elaine Carroll, a site director with Jane Addams Resource Corporation; and Regan Brewer Johnson, the executive vice president at Jane Addams Resource Corporation, pose for a photo during the SC&H Group-sponsored panel discussion on manufacturing. (Photo courtesy of SC&H Group)

From left, Trif Alatzas, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Baltimore Sun; John Williams, chairman and CEO of Jamison Door; Ron Causey, CEO of SC&H Group; Renee Evans, the human resources manager at Pompeian Inc.; Mark Rice, the president of Maritime Applied Physics Corporation; Jen Strobel, vice president of human resources at Flagger Force; and Jason Hardebeck, CEO of The Foundery, were on hand during the panel discussion on manufacturing. (Photo courtesy of SC&H Group)

Monica Beeman, left, the director of growth and development at the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, and Jason Hardebeck, CEO of The Foundery, are all smiles during the SC&H Group-sponsored panel discussion on manufacturing. (Photo courtesy of SC&H Group)

Kerry Wells, left, the director of workforce and program development at MD MEP; and Mike Kelleher, the chief financial officer and chief operating officer with MD MEP, attended the SC&H Group-sponsored panel discussion on manufacturing. (Photo courtesy of SC&H Group)

Executives from the region’s leading manufacturers urged fellow organizations to adopt more creative talent acquisition and retention approaches during a panel discussion Sept. 20 at the Mount Washington Mill-Dye House, part of a manufacturing focused series created by SC&H Group.

The panelists urged business owners to stop using uninventive workforce development strategies, or face the prospect of continued difficulty with recruiting.

Trif Alatzas, the publisher and editor-in-chief of the Baltimore Sun and moderator of the event, directed a series of questions for the panel of experts. While many manufacturing organizations have struggled to retain, recruit and expand their workforces, the companies the panelists represented have managed to do just that through programs such as vocational schools, grants, joint ventures, apprenticeships and internal training initiatives.

Alatzas opened the discussion by sharing the importance of manufacturing to the Sun, a vibrant manufacturer in Baltimore printing, producing, and distributing the newspaper for more than 180 years. Mark Rice, the president of Maritime Applied Physics Corporation touched the gap between workforce development and manufacturing as one of the most important issue faced by manufacture and still its biggest challenge today. He discussed initiatives taken by his organization to create training, educational and mentoring programs at the high school level.

The event was also jointly sponsored by First National Bank.

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