Faced with a shortage of skilled labor, Optimax Systems recruits at the high school level.

President Mike Mandina of Optimax Systems Inc. has dealt firsthand with the shortage of skilled labor in the Rochester, N.Y., region. Although he knows other advanced manufacturers in the area experience the same problem, he believes this shortage affects the entire community, as well, and he wants to address the problem at its earliest level.

Mandina is leading a group of about 140 companies in the Rochester area in starting the Advanced Manufacturing Regional Skills Alliance (AMRSA). The mission of the alliance, which will have its kickoff meeting in September, is to change the image of manufacturing in the eyes of students and parents who do not realize the opportunities the industry has to offer.

“When you say ‘manufacturing,’ right away people think, ‘no jobs and no future,’” Mandina says. “The problem is people out there don’t have the proper skills to be successful in these jobs.”

The Benefits of Internships
AMRSA’s mission is twofold. The first part of the mission is to get advanced manufacturers to reach out to high school and college students by hiring interns. Mandina says Optimax Systems, a components manufacturer for the optics industry, hires 15 interns per summer to supplement a staff of 150 employees.

The benefits of internship at advanced manufacturing companies are mutual, according to Mandina. Interns gain job experience and knowledge they normally wouldn’t receive through class work, and many companies, including Optimax, offer them repeat tours of duty with the company and hire them once they’ve graduated.

For the companies, Mandina likens internship to an “on-the-job interview.” Employers are able to see how a young person acts in a professional situation and if they are the right for the company once they are done with school. Optimax has take advantage of its internship program over the last five years.

Mandina says the company has hired 60 new employees in the last five years, and 20 percent of them were Optimax interns at some point.

But not every internship success story necessarily ends with Optimax hiring the intern for a full-time position, according to Mandina.

He says he considers interns who experience manufacturing and decide it is not for them just as beneficial to the company as those he adds to his staff right out of school.

“We’re not going to hire every intern we bring in,” Mandina says. “Sometimes they have the right mix of skill sets.

“Sometimes you’ll hire that intern five or 10 years later if you want because you’ll know their work skills and how they approach a job.

“We seldom completely lose contact with these people.”

Network of Companies
The second part of AMRSA’s mission, according to Mandina, is to create a network of companies in the advanced manufacturing industry that are experiencing the same issues. “We want to bring these firms together to form work groups that can address whatever we choose to address,” Mandina says. “Whether it is HR or lean implementation, we’ll talk about issues and share experiences and best practices.”

Mandina insists that the shortage of skilled laborers for the advanced manufacturers in the Rochester region is not only a concern for the industry, but also for the community. If the region is able to create qualified candidates for what could be lucrative positions, it will embolden the region’s economy.

“Without wealth creation, we’re fighting over the same dollar,” Mandina says. “If we increase the wealth in the area, now we’re talking about a region with vitality. Sustained economic improvement helps enable societal improvement. If this alliance works, it will be well worth the effort.”

Along with AMRSA, Optimax has a number of its own recruitment initiatives. The company is a corporate affiliate of a number of universities that specialize in optics, including the University of Rochester, University of Arizona and the University of Central Florida. “We maintain those relationships by sending representatives to participate in their corporate days, hiring their students and contributing to their projects,” he adds.