[Jac Mac]

Originally Posted by joyridin'

Not exactly all true. I visit many machine shops, and all are looking for help. Nobody can find anybody with any skills to run a machine. Everybody these days wants to sit behind a desk and punch numbers. When you walk into most shops, the average age of most machinists is probably in the early 50's. I'm not talking about parts unloaders, I'm talking about people with skills. Part of this is due to our educational system. They teach everybody to go to college. Not a bad thing, but it left a hole in the trade skills. Next we have the employers. During good times, you work 80 hours/week. When the economy slows, the first thing they do is boot them out the door. Also, nobody wants to spend any money to train anybody these days. There used to be 8 facilities where employers sent apprentices to train. Now there is 1.

Let's also not forget Wal-Mart. The land of cheap crap. Everybody wanted the cheapest, so Wal-Mart provided it. The cheapest didn't come from the USA. Once Wal-Mart went to China, everybody else had to do the same to be competitive.

This problem is not confined to the USA, I doubt whether many guys that have come thru modern tech training facilities can do basic stuff like degree in a cam, work out compression ratios, correct pushrod length etc, the stuff that is vital to whether a motor lasts 10 seconds or 10 thousand miles, they can all fit the shiny pod filters and anodized thermostat housings though & charge like a wounded buffalo in the process...