Our last millennial featured in this Millennials in Manufacturing series is Zach Tondreau, the conformal coat lead at Saline Lectronics.
Over the past two years, Zach has moved up starting as an associate, progressing to associate coordinator, and now as a production lead at Lectronics. “This is my first job in manufacturing and it has been very rewarding. I’ve always tried to do quality work at any job I’ve had, but never received any recognition for it. I feel fortunate to have my hard work appreciated.”
According to Zach, he was just looking for a job initially to sustain his studies. When he joined Lectronics, he says his expectations were exceeded. “I had no plans of building a career with Saline Lectronics or manufacturing in general. Now, I enjoy my job and I am happy to come into work every morning. Working with Lectronics has been very rewarding.”
And this excitement is directly translated into motivation on the job. “Having my work noticed and appreciated motivates me to go the extra mile. A positive atmosphere at work is more important to me than financial gain.”
Of course, every job has its set of challenges. Zach notes that you have to work on every issue every day before they build up on top of the next day’s challenges. “Manufacturing is in a state of constant improvements—even if the existing process already works. Communication is a constant issue, so everyone has to be on the same page for the system to work.”
Attracting Millennials to Manufacturing
Initiatives such as STEM are among the steps being taken by academe to attract the younger generation to join the technology and manufacturing field, among others. However, Zach does not think enough is being done to make millennials aware of this line of work.
“When I thought of electronic manufacturing, I thought of a couple technicians controlling an automated process. I had no idea of the number of people it takes to manufacture products. I think the younger generation can be made aware of careers in manufacturing through job fairs, or by visiting high schools and giving presentations to students. It’s important to provide examples of how the products they all use every day are manufactured.”
Read the rest of Zach’s column on i-Connect007 here.
The post Millennials in Manufacturing: Zach Tondreau – Motivating Millennials appeared first on Saline Lectronics.
