Picture a tooling apprentice. Young guy, maybe just out of high school, right? Someone who was never interested in traditional college-bound classes?
How about someone in their 40s. Maybe someone with years of experience in manufacturing who wants to focus on a trade. Someone who's not from a hotbed of mold making.
Canon Virginia Inc. has found a rich pool of apprentices by opening up to people already working elsewhere in the company. Their apprentice mold makers range in age from 27 to 49, drawn from a pool of 1,700 employees at its other operations in Newport News, Va.
As Steve Toloken writes in a profile of CVI's program — part of Plastics News' Plastics Training and Apprenticeships special report this week — the company was having problems finding recruits.
"Virginia is not actually known as a hotbed for mold making," Human Resources Director Rhonda Bunn said. "You're not in Michigan, you're not in Chicago and you're not in the north."