Published in the Independence Daily Reporter, June 22, 2016

We’ve scratched our heads for years at countless economic development meetings wondering how we can have unemployment in Southeast Kansas and yet companies will say “We have jobs and no one wants to work.”  The same companies have trouble with their employees’ “soft skills” or lack thereof.  But, have you looked recently at some of the offerings?

The ad says:  “Now Hiring; Must be able to work 40 hours a week plus scheduled overtime.  Ability to work in extreme hear, noisy areas, lifting 45lbs, lifts to waist and chest with some overhead lifting, continuous bending and stretching, pushing, stooping and twisting, and pulling in excess of 50 lbs.  Standing/walking on concrete for 8 – 12 hours.  Operation of fork truck may be required.  Wages start at $11 & $12.  Benefits available.”

This ad appeared recently for a company in Southeast Kansas.  The jobs listed offer no hope of advancement and from your $12 per hour you have to purchase your own benefits.

We began moving to jobs like this, away from farmers, merchants and entrepreneurs after the Civil War.  The devastation in the south, the industrial revolution in the north, and a recession or two in the late 19^th century started a transition way from self-sufficiency to a dependency on the steady income resulting from repetitive factory work.  Workers weren’t expected to  use their brains to think of anything knew, only to have the bare knowledge to do the repetitive, many times back-breaking work of the job without complaint.  The schools–and I mean the big ones, Harvard, Yale, and the others, helped industry and the government design K-12 school curriculum that taught rank and file students just enough to do repetitive production work and be happy about having a job.

Now comes the “entrepreneurial revolution” starting in the 1990’s with the advent of the Internet and a world full of people wanting a piece of the American market.   Global economies characterized by entrepreneurs and creative thinkers along with factories using robotics and automation to stay competitive are becoming the norm.  The companies that will survive this new economic game will need workers that think creatively and be active contributors to solving their customers’ problems.

At the same time, most people today want to work in an environment where they are appreciated and can contribute in a positive way to solving the problems of the company; not so much interested in “continuous bending and stretching, pushing, stooping and twisting, and pulling in excess of 50 lbs.”

The entire answer is complex, but companies will continue to have increased difficulty in filling the repetitive, menial jobs listed above.  There are vendors that can help provide automated, robotic solutions for the “pushing, stooping and twisting” at a lower cost than even the $11 – $12 hourly wages and related workers compensation claims and premiums.

On the worker side, our technical training programs need to provide a well-rounded introduction of topics and disciplines, including robotics, electronics, automation, machining, welding, coatings, character, conflict resolution and communication; all these subjects under an umbrella of entrepreneurial mindset, which is all about critical thinking and problem solving.  I’ll have more on this new training next time.

Published in the Independence Daily Reporter, June 15, 2016.

We had a great event at Fab Lab ICC last Tuesday that involved three young women from the University of Illinois and about 40 of our area girls ages 7 – 10 years.  While all the girls had a blast, there was actually a serious and needed message conveyed amidst all the fun and learning.  That is that it’s ok for girls to like science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).  Indeed, our society, especially our educational institutions have been clamoring to try to figure out how to stimulate interest in STEM among our nation’s young girls.  Ever since the inception of Fab Lab ICC, we knew that all you have to do to create interest in STEM is give girls the opportunity to make things.  That’s exactly what happened last Tuesday in two, two-hour maker sessions at Fab Lab ICC.

The girls were led through a simple design process to draw something they wanted to make on a small shopping bag.  Then they each learned the basics of three dimensional drawing on lap top computers the Maker Girls brought with them.  (They used a cloud based program called Tinker Cad available free to anyone with an Internet device.)  The Maker Girls also brought 15-3D printers with them so each girl could print a small representation of their creation.

The college students, Premika Pandian, Kendall Furbee, and Manisha Singh were on a summer-long tour sponsored by the non-profit Maker Girl organization.  By the end of summer, they will have visited dozens of Fab Labs and Maker Spaces across the entire United States and have inspired hundreds of young girls to know they can all aspire to have a life-career involving STEM.

When we agreed to host the event, two sessions capped at 20 girls each seemed adequate.  In fact, both sessions were full before we had a chance to promote and market the event.  Word spread fast and by about May 15 three weeks before the event, both sessions were full.  By then, the Maker Girl schedule was set and they were not available to stay another day.  Had we known of the interest from the beginning, we could have had them stay here two or three days.

This goes to show that girls are naturally interested in STEM, but our society’s message to them has not stimulated their interest. We see that starting to change now with programs like Maker Girl and others around the country.  We were happy and honored to be a part of the Maker Girl’s first national tour and we’ll be sure to schedule them to return just as soon as they are available.

Published in the Independence Daily Reporter, June 1, 2016

Some states have already mandated it.  It sounds good, at first, but the mandatory $15 minimum wage may have some unintended consequences, many of them, well, not so good.

Automation and robotics are coming to the workplace and they are coming fast.  Entire warehouses are served by robotic carts retrieving merchandise to be sent to customers.  Fully ambulatory robots are programmed to do some of the mundane tasks on the assembly line; mundane tasks currently being performed by minimum wage earners.  The cost of such a robot is about $22,000 and it will last five to eight years.  That’s a bit more than the current minimum wage for one year, but less than the $15.00 mandatory minimum wage.  A current commercial offers a franchise opportunity where the main feature is a robot that will serve your yogurt creation.  (This is a terrible business model.  In a year or two, robots will be serving all kinds of items in all kinds of restaurants.  Robots will become more common.)

In spite of what any politician says about “bringing jobs back to America”, the minimum wage jobs will not be coming back.  There are too many people in the world willing to work for much less money than the current minimum wage, let alone a new $15 minimum wage.

All this does not bode well for those earning the minimum wage at current levels.  States raising the bar to $15 incents businesses in those states to do more automation and off-shoring of low-level jobs, thus reducing their employment levels.

We can expect higher unemployment among those in the minimum wage sector; especially youth in the urban areas that need “starter” jobs to learn and enhance skills.  Is that really what we hope to achieve with this clamoring to a higher minimum wage?

Minimum wage jobs are supposed to be “starter” jobs.  People take them to get “started” and then aspire to excel in the way they do those jobs so they can begin to move up the ladder into higher paying positions.  The minimum wage was never supposed to be a fully “living” wage.

Somehow, in our society, we’ve raised a generation or two of people that have the idea they should be able to take a “starter” job and have a comfortable life without aspiring to grow and improve their skills and wage level in the work place.

Our schools and training programs can help by not only providing technical knowledge and skills, but also providing the aspiration for life-long learning and self-improvement so our citizens won’t expect a minimum wage job, no matter what the hourly rate, to give them a comfortable life.

Published in the Independence Daily Reporter, May 25, 2016

We’ve been fortunate over the past one and one-half years to be involved in some extraordinary projects; first, a Cyborg Beast hand for then 13 year-old Kara Marr, then similar hands for 4 year-olds Preston Bundy and Brinley Papish (BTW, we learned that 4 years old is a bit young for a Beast hand), most recently a violin adapter for 6 year-old Clara Conard from Minneola in Southwest Kansas.  Those kinds of projects get a lot of press coverage and that’s good.

We have a lot of tools and capabilities for small businesses and manufacturers and we haven’t talked about those enough.  The projects completed by small business owners (SBOs) are not as sensational but very helpful, especially in areas of branding and communication; i.e. signage, banners, posters, brochures and flyers.   We also have the tools for digital communication with audio-video production equipment and editing software.  Finally, we have tools several entrepreneurs are using to develop new products that have been ideas in their minds for years with no way to produce them.  Just a few years ago, our tools and capabilities were not available to small businesses either at all or not at an affordable price.

The idea of Fab Lab ICC is to make it easy for SBOs to learn to make things themselves.  Indeed, anyone that uses a computer for email, word processing and searching the Internet can learn our software.  In the past few months, due to popular demand (and I mean demand, literally) we’re been working to develop a “bullpen” of student and member entrepreneurs to that can be “called up” to provide services for the busy SBOs that can’t find the time to join the ranks of our “do-it-yourselfers”.  These entrepreneurs receive real-world training while providing a solution for the time-strapped small business owner.

We have the capability to print everything from business cards to exterior banners.  We have binding, cutting and folding equipment.  We can help make signs from wood, vinyl and aluminum letters and printed adhesive vinyl that can be applied to glass or metal.  We have a professional video camera and microphones.  We have 3D printing and fabrication capabilities for prototyping new products and gadgets.  We have the electronics to make the prototypes come to life.

So many tools, it’s difficult to describe them; better if people can see them.  We are scheduling a series of small business and manufacturer open house opportunities scheduled for this summer; all informal and all open to the public so people can see what we have to offer.  Starting in June, Wednesdays from 5:00pm to 8:00pm on June 15th and 29^th; July 13^th and 27^th.  Fridays from 7:30am to 10:30am on June 10^th and 24^th; July 8 and 22^nd.  Feel free to drop by during those times or if you have a project you need to get started now, feel free to contact me at jcorrell@indycc.edu or 620-252-5349.