Manufacturing a Future

According to Sirkin (2012), "The much talked-about “skills gap” in the U.S. is more limited than many people think and shouldn’t prevent, or even stall, the U.S. manufacturing renaissance, at least for a while."  In the manufacturing industry, further shortages will continue to develop over time and will ultimately prove to be problematic if there is not enough new talent entering the manufacturing workforce for specific trades. 

The Boston Consulting Group estimates that occupations with the most need include welders, machinists, and industrial machinery mechanics.  Five of the country's fifty largest manufacturing centers have significant gaps in skilled workers.  Many people believe that there is no need for concern, but some of the degrees most sought after by current students are business-oriented and as time goes on, many of the "baby boomers" will get closer to retirement.  In Sirkin's article Skill Gap: No Big Deal If... (2012), he explains that the average, high-skilled manufacturing worker in the U.S. is fifty-six years of age and if the manufacturing industry continues to grow while the "baby boomers" continue to retire, we could face a shortage of 875,000 skilled workers by 2020.  A shortage of that magnitude would be a major problem for our already-hurting economy.

In order for the manufacturing industry to make a turnaround, there needs to be a program that would attract young students and workers to become more skilled and to attract them to manufacturing jobs.  Sirkin (2012) states that most high-skill manufacturing jobs only require a high school diploma and many have on-the-job training for new applicants, yet only sixteen percent of respondent companies recruit in high school.  If colleges were to have more in depth training programs or even a combination of manufacturing and another specialty, more students would be inclined to venture into the industry.  Another reason for manufacturing to take off is because many recent college graduates are either unemployed or working in low-paying positions.

Keeping our economy in mind, schools across the country should develop more and exciting programs for students who might not think that they could have a future in the manufacturing industry.  Without a new work force entering into the market, more jobs could be exported, leaving American citizens jobless and facing more challenges in an already stressful economy.


Sirkin, Harold L. (2012, November 12). Skills Gap: No Big Deal If.... Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-12/skills-gap-no-big-deal-if

Service Learning

Service Learning and reaching out to the community are important for communities and individuals in those communities.  Service Learning consists of the learning of a particular service or product that people can learn and apply in their community.  The learning of a particular service or product is not only beneficial to the person helping, but also the community because the goal is to make the community a better place for its residents. 

For our Service Learning project, we will be working with Big Brothers Big Sisters in an effort to spread the message and work that the company provides to underprivileged children.  In order to help the organization, our class will be working on the Big Brothers Big Sisters newsletter as well as a class article describing our experience while working on the Service Learning project for Professional Writing.  An appeals letter will also be drafted describing what was learned through the experience. 

From this experience with Big Brothers Big Sisters, I hope to take away the knowledge and beliefs that the company has built from.  I also hope to use this experience as a learning one that will allow me to continue helping community outreach programs and might also be a stepping stone toward bigger opportunities.  In my current work at a financial institution, the writing skills that will be applied toward the appeals letter and article can also help when preparing statements or other memos for my company.  In the future, I will use these experiences to prepare professional documents and advertising campaigns for a company.  In the majority of business or any other work atmosphere, writing is involved whether it is for employees, management, clients, or colleagues.  Any type of volunteer work is also positively looked upon when applying for a job since any extra experience qualifies an applicant more than if he/she did not have any. 

Overall, I look forward to the partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters and hope to gain valuable knowledge and experience.  This community outreach program is one of the first of its kind and has continued to thrive because of quality volunteers willing to be a mentor for a child who maybe does not have that in his or her life.

Instructions for De-struction

When looking online for instructions in two or more languages, I fell upon an assembly for an A-Frame bookcase in both English and Spanish.  After reading through both of the instructions, I noticed some differences and similarities.  

                Both of the instruction booklets were in black and white and contained the same diagrams presented by the West Elm website (2012).  The two different instruction manuals were not presented on the same page.  They could be accessed in different languages from a main screen where the user could select from English, Spanish, and French languages.  The Spanish guide did have darker and bolder images that caught my eye from the beginning.  One would think that since these are for the same product and since it is constructed the same way no matter the language, that the diagrams would be identical in all aspects.  The headings throughout are all the same font and appear to be the same size as well.  

                I found many similarities, but there were also some differences such as the small boxed diagram where it shows the user how to insert the cam lock edge into the direction of the cam.  The image of this in the Spanish manual is a mirrored version of the English diagram.  It still explains how the two pieces are put together through one of the boards, but it is through different areas of the bookcase.  I believe it would be much easier to have simply copied the same picture into the other manual.  

                Overall, the two assembly instruction manuals were pretty much identical besides the couple different diagrams and the darkness of them.  They both still explained the same steps in the same order as well as the same disclosure at the bottom of the page explaining that the hardware may loosen over time and to wipe down the bookcase with a soft dry cloth to protect the finish.  Many people overlook and may immediately throw out any instructions in other languages, but unless one speaks the other language, there might be both subtle and obvious differences that, hopefully, wouldn’t impede the owner’s ability to construct a product. 

West Elm. (2012). Williams – Sonoma Inc.  Retrieved from: <http://www.westelm.com/resources/assembly-instructions/?cm_type=lnav>

Online Identity

Recently, I have completed the online identity calculator and have also Google-searched my name to see if any of my personal information is revealed.  Of all of the items that came up from the search, only my old address was revealed on many online phone book websites.  In this age of technology, workers may impede their own employment opportunities because of unprofessional information displayed on various websites accessed through the internet.

When searching my name on Google, the search engine gave me several different websites.  Of the first three pages of websites, twenty of the links did not contain information or details on my personal or business affairs.  One of my old addresses was available by a white pages website and my blog that I have written in my professional writing course was also one of the links.  One people-finder webpage, Spokeo, might have appeared on the search had I not removed myself from it previously.  Many people have their social media and networking profiles pop up on search engines, but I have not included my full name on any of those websites in case an employer were to search my name.  Most of the social networking sites, like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter, can be edited to not have a person’s full name attached to them.  If one were to remove or edit their name on any of those accounts, the likelihood of those websites being included on the search would greatly diminish.  Public information could include any professional blogs, works of art or literature, or basic information that is usually revealed such as an address.  When I searched for my name, many other people throughout the country and world popped up.  Of those other people, only one person had their name associated with a social networking website.  Because the other Alexander Nitsos’s profile was set to private, no personal information could be revealed by the casual internet browser.  If people were to search for me using a search engine, I would only want any professional-related material to be available.  I am pleased that my blog is on the first page of search results and that there is not anything that would impede my ability to acquire a job. 

Using great care, I have successfully created my social networking and other personal websites without using my full name; therefore, anything unprofessional does not show up when searching myself with a search engine.  According to the online identity calculator, I have a “digitally distinct” online profile, which is described as having a search where my name yields lots of information about me and most, if not all, reinforcesmy unique personal brand. 

Thank you for taking the time to let me explain the importance of protecting oneself on the internet and options that are available to the general public that will keep unprofessional websites from appearing on search engines.