October 29, 2008
Chrysler workers making plans
Del.'s aviation industry among the options for 1,100 facing Dec. layoffs
By GARY HABER
The News Journal Like many of the 1,100 workers at Chrysler LLC's Newark assembly plant, Marcy Watkins plans to look for another manufacturing job after the plant shuts its doors in December. "I could never see myself in an office," said the 50-year-old Wilmington resident and 28-year Chrysler veteran. "You're used to working with your hands." The Delaware Economic Development Office, which promotes economic growth in the state, says Delaware's aviation industry is one field where Watkins and other displaced Chrysler employees may be able to find work. Companies in the industry "are looking to fill hundreds of jobs," including openings for sheet-metal workers, Dina Reider-Hicks, a DEDO spokeswoman, told the News Journal last week. It might not be that easy. Aviation jobs in the state may not be so plentiful, and in some cases may require specialized skills or training most autoworkers likely don't currently have. Aviation is a $154.7 million industry in Delaware and employs 1,164 workers, Reider-Hicks said Tuesday. At least one local company isn't hiring, however. "We're good for the positions we have now," said John Bonnell, director of aircraft maintenance at Summit Aviation in Middletown, which has about 100 workers. "The economy's turning, and everybody's buckling down the hatches to see how this turns out," Bonnell said. Joseph Smith, vice president of operations for Rite Tech Aerospace in Bridgeville, launched his company last year with the help of a $100,000 loan from DEDO. The company provides engineering technical support, including generating mechanical and engineering drawings, for other aviation companies. Rite Tech's workers need engineering degrees and experience in computer-aided design, Smith said. "We don't just hire somebody off the street," he said. "They have to have some technical education." While Rite Tech has grown to five employees, Smith doesn't foresee the company growing beyond nine workers this year, the threshold he would need to meet to qualify for a $25,000 jobs-creation grant from DEDO. "Right now, it's dependent on the economy," Smith said. Jet mechanics in demand Dassault Aircraft Services, part of French aviation company Dassault Falcon Jet, has 360 employees at New Castle Airport, said Andrew Ponzoni, a company spokesman. The company, whose business includes completing the interiors for business jets, has a near-term need for "highly experienced A and P mechanics" -- aircraft and power plant mechanics -- experienced in working on Falcon business jets, and with the required Federal Aviation Administration certification, Ponzoni said. He declined to say how many positions the company has available. Officials at PATS Aircraft in Georgetown, one of the larger companies in the aviation industry in Delaware, could not be reached. The company's Web site lists 11 openings. Reider-Hicks, the DEDO spokeswoman, said the company is looking for multiple workers for those openings, but no one could be reached at the company to confirm that. The positions include sheet-metal installation supervisor and lead sheet-metal installation mechanic. Both positions, as advertised, require previous experience that could rule out people trying to transfer from the auto industry. The mechanic job requires at least five years working in aircraft sheet metal, while the supervisor position requires five years of "related aviation experience." Training opportunities for aircraft jobs could also be in short supply. Delaware Technical & Community College is starting a program in January at its Owens Campus in Georgetown to train people in airframe maintenance, working on the parts of the airplane other than the engine, said Lisa Hastings-Sheppard, a DelTech spokeswoman. The program is awaiting FAA certification, but all 24 slots in the inaugural class are already filled, Hastings-Sheppard said. The school expects to add another 24 slots to the program in August, and expand the program to include engine maintenance, she said. In Mich., turning to nursing Delaware officials might want to look to Michigan, a state that has shed thousands of auto-industry jobs in the last decade, and which has looked beyond manufacturing, preparing workers for jobs in new high-demand fields such as health care. The state's Department of Labor and Economic Growth created a "No Worker Left Behind Program," which has retrained more than 35,000 people who once worked in the auto industry. "The auto industry has done a huge structuring, and these jobs aren't coming back," said Diana Carpenter, who leads No Worker Left Behind's action team. Oakland University, in Rochester, Mich., outside Detroit, and Henry Ford Health System, a Detroit-based hospital system, launched a program for displaced autoworkers without a college degree to earn a bachelor's degree in nursing in three years. About 60 people are enrolled in the program, said Linda Thompson Adams, dean of Oakland University's school of nursing. "It benefits everybody to have people in nursing and jobs in health care, where the need is so huge," Adams said. "I've been surprised with the level of interest," she adds. "There have been very few drop-outs." Interest was also high when Beaumont Hospitals, a health care system based in Royal Oak, Mich., outside Detroit, held an open house for its nursing education program with Michigan State University, which helps people transition from the auto industry, said Linda Kruso, director of work-force planning at Beaumont Hospitals. Thirty-two former autoworkers, with college degrees, have already graduated from the one-year program that qualifies graduates to sit for the state nursing licensing exam. The students "are looking for someplace where they can make a difference, and which has stability," while providing much-needed nurses, Kruso said. "It has helped develop future health care talent for Michigan," she said. The program has since been expanded to include Oakland University and Wayne State University in Detroit. While Marcy Watkins, the 28-year Chrysler veteran, says a job in aviation interests her, other Chrysler workers, like Benjamin Jeffcoat, say they're done with manufacturing. The 44-year-old Smyrna resident is studying business at Wilmington College and plans to start a nurse-staffing agency with his fiancée. "You do things for so long, and you realize there has to be something more," the 15-year Chrysler veteran said. "You make a good living but there's a cap on how much you can make, compared with working for someone else."
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