This week’s episode of the NEW Manufacturing Insights podcast, sponsored by Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, features Kate Bruns’ and Ann Franz’s conversation with Jim Eckes, fabrication manager with Nercon Conveyor Systems, which has its manufacturing operations in Oconto.
Eckes, who has enjoyed a 38-year career with Nercon, tells the co-hosts about the company’s investment in the community of Oconto, which has included a partnership with Oconto High School, educational programs with NEWMA, and a burgeoning youth apprenticeship program Jim calls one of the “favorite programs I’ve ever been involved with.”
He says the youth apprenticeship program is picking up steam as skilled workers are becoming more and more comfortable with the concept of teaching.
“I’m a machinist by trade, but in becoming a mentor … one of my favorite things is to see that a-ha light bulb go on when you’re training a student,” he says, adding that students aren’t the only ones who benefit from the partnership.
“The other side of this is we’ve been able to develop our employees better because they’ve had to take ownership of the training side they’ve never really been involved with before,” he says. “They look at this as ‘I’m actually training a younger person now that’s probably going to look up to me someday.’ The reason we’re ramping up so much now is, honestly, it’s the mentors that we have now. In the past people weren’t sure how this program was going to roll along they didn’t know how good of teachers they’d be, and you’ve got a lot more skilled workforce now that’s ready to take that responsibility.”
NEW Manufacturing Insights is a joint production of the NEW Manufacturing Alliance and Insight on Manufacturing magazine, produced by B.J. DeGroot of Woodward Community Media.
Listen to the full episode on the Insight website, on Spreaker, or anywhere you get your podcasts. New episodes are released on Thursdays.
