Seven years ago, Roger Sustar looked to the future with uneasiness.
The manufacturing industry’s labor pool was dwindling to an all-time low, and no matter how many high school students he tried to recruit, they seemed to have little interest in the opportunities available.
Today, Saturday mornings at Fredon Corp.’s Mentor facility are in stark contract to Sustar’s days on the career guidance circuit. High school students work alongside company veterans, machining and assembling the parts of miniature Napoleon-era cannons they will keep as souvenirs of the company’s eight-month educational experience.
Sustar started his “Cannons of Freedon” program seven years ago with the help of the Boy Scouts of America after he abandoned high school visits. Now it’s his most effective recruiting tool.
“If we get nine or 10 kids who finish the program over the course of the year, we’ll try to hire on at least one of them as a full-time person after they graduate,” says Sustar, president of Fredon. “We take the best ones and it works out really well. It keeps our small company replenished with young blood.”
In 1992, Sustar met a representative of the Boy Scouts of America who recommended he start an Explorer unit at the company, where students could get hands-on experience in the manufacturing trade.
“She said, ‘I know your frustration. I know what you’re going through. Why don’t you start this? It will change your attitude,’” recalls Sustar. “Looking back, I’d have to say it did.”
So far, more than 80 young men and women have “graduated” from Sustar’s program. Some just want to learn more about manufacturing before moving on to pursue engineering degrees. For others, the program results in an apprenticeship with Fredon, which ultimately leads to a career with the company.
Starting a program can be a capital-intensive venture. Sustar estimates Fredon spends about $25,000 a year to conduct it. But the money is of little matter. The real pay off, he says, is the gratitude from parents.
“Every year, we always manage to get two or three really nice personal notes from the moms or dads thanking us for helping their kids,” he says. “Not that they even come to work for us, but just that we helped them accomplish something.”
How to reach: Roger Sustar, Fredon Corp, (440) 951-5200
Jim Vickers ([email protected]) is an associate editor at SBN.
