Reprint from American Fastener Journal, May/June 2019

I just left an Industrial Fasteners Institute meeting where, once again, one of the most prominent themes of discussion revolved around recruiting and retaining new employees into our industry. This is not a new discussion. In fact, I have been working on projects related to this topic for the last seven years. I recall a report, “A New Wave—Recruiting the Next Generation,” where it spoke about various programs by which “companies are ensuring the future of the industry.” The key part of this thread is those quoted six words, “ensuring the future of the industry.” I have been working on this for the last seven years, and others much longer, signaling the realization that very little of the dialog is new. So why has so little seemingly been accomplished in all this time? Although this article is not intended to seek the answers to that question, it is an important question to consider, especially in the context of the subject of this article, i.e. recruiting and retaining individuals into the fastener industry. I hope that exploring such questions will lead you to ask yourself: Why, if the very survival of your company—or more globally, an industry—is dependent on ushering the new leaders, associates, and members onto your team, has so little been proactively accomplished in the last 10 years? And to what extent has your company invested in ensuring its future?