(Fives: Paris) -- U.S. military veterans are finding post-service success at Fives Machining Systems, putting their troubleshooting skills and technical experience to work in field service and customer support positions for the global machine-tool manufacturer. Since 2014, the company has hired nearly 20 former members of the various military branches at 10 field-service locations throughout the United States. Veterans are also accepted in the company’s nationally recognized apprenticeship program.
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“Finding qualified individuals is important to Fives as we continuously invest to build our network of field-based service technicians,” says William Weier, director of human resources for Fives Cincinnati. “These folks serve on our ‘frontlines’ in critical roles supporting our machinery in customer plants worldwide, and we’ve found that veterans bring well-developed mechanical and computer skills, discipline, and the ability to be good team players, which are critical to our technically demanding business.”
Veterans are placed in key locations throughout the United States. “We currently have three veterans in our apprenticeship program,” says Weier. “The program is certified through the state of Kentucky, and apprentices earn a very competitive wage, with pay increases every six months as their skills increase.” Going forward, veterans who enter the apprenticeship program will come in as advanced apprentices and will be required to complete a one-year program, vs. a four-year program for other apprentices.
Based on previous positive experiences with ex-military employees, Fives attends armed forces job fairs to recruit veterans. “Today’s high-tech manufacturing requires a strong skills set, and we use extensive outreach pathways to secure the best and brightest candidates available, including active recruitment of military personnel whose enlistments are ending,” says Weier. “We have found that many veterans received technical training while in the service, and they have the desired traits such as dependability, accountability, and maturity.”
With this military background, field service technicians quickly ramp up to speed and provide world-class customer support for the company’s machine tools, including the Cincinnati, Giddings & Lewis and Liné Machines products. “By hiring military veterans and through our apprenticeship program, we are passing along the engineering and technical skills needed to serve current and future customers,” says Weier.
Fives is recognized as an industry leader in workforce development. The company recently participated in the White House Upskill Summit, a national initiative launched by President Obama aimed at equipping workers with skills they need to earn and advance in higher-paying jobs. The company’s apprenticeship program has been featured on the NBC Nightly News and in numerous business publication articles.
For additional information, visit Fives Group or the dedicated metal-cutting and composites website.
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