Fabrication shop would hire if workers were available

Date: 3/15/2011

March 16, 2011

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

CHICOPEE — In the middle of his busy metal fabrication shop, Walter Rose has to speak up a bit to be heard over the sounds of his employees grinding, cutting and welding. His message is a direct one: he has jobs he can't fill due to a lack of educated applicants.

Rose is the owner of The Metal Men at 87 Montcalm St. Since the shop opened in 1998, it has made a wide range of metal parts and objects for its clients. Rose said at this time, the business works with almost 200 businesses. Rose's business was recently selected to manufacture "Crook Hook," a device to help police officers stop suspicious cars that was developed by a Wilbraham inventor.

The company offers all aspects of fabrication, including shearing, bending, punching, machining and welding. It currently employs nine full-time workers.

Business has been good enough that Rose recently invested in a metal bending machine so large it had to be lowered into the building through the roof. He said the investment in the new tool was necessary to "keep up with the times."

As he talks about his business, one of his employees comes up to him with a question. After the exchange he explained the worker is new and just out of high school. He said if an applicant has an affinity for the work, he is willing to teach them.

Rose explained that some of the machines used in the shop don't require highly skilled people to operate them correctly.

He added, though, despite the emphasis on training students in precision metal work in area vocational high schools, he hasn't seen an influx of graduates ready for the field.

"You can't find them [qualified employees]," he said. "They're not training them. We have to train them ourselves."