One of the criteria in selecting a career, whether exiting high school, technical or four year college, is where do I look for a career that will last? With technology constantly changing the employment landscape, finding a growing segment rather than a diminishing one is paramount to creating a foothold.
According to the Size & Impact Report from the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS; Washington, DC) showed that the U.S. plastics industry is ready to lead a revolution in American manufacturing.
Here at PlastiCert, as a small manufacturer, we wear many different hats in covering the areas we need to cover. One of the things I always valued in the early part of my career was having broad responsibilities. It allows you to gain experience in multiple areas, and gain an appreciation for what aspects of the operation you like more or less.
In fact, I spent a career starting in small companies with multiple assigned responsibilities, only to watch the company grow and at the same time, watch my depth of responsibilities dwindle as people joined the company. Granted, the work required increased with the growth and I was no longer able to cover so much, but still, less hats was not as fun as more hats.
As PlastiCert has grown, we continue to shift responsibilities to accommodate the talents we have in house. That is partly due to satisfy peoples’ need to grow; it is also due to the lack of available talent when we need it. A dwindling workforce has helped us to be more creative in accomplishing the tasks we require, with the people available. Efficiencies, automation, and lean thinking have allowed us to maintain.
So if you are not quite sure what exactly you want to do, yet want to be a part of something that is growing and has a future, look at plastics/composites as well as PlastiCert itself. We appreciate talent, multitaskers, and those that like variety, change and above all are not afraid to say, “What all can I do to help.”