Shaheen visit spotlights need for workers

BY TIMOTHY LAROCHE
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CLAREMONT — The need to develop a robust local workforce took center stage on Tuesday as Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s, D-N.H., visited one of Claremont’s largest manufacturers.

Shaheen toured Canam-Bridges, the Claremont satellite plant of Canada-based steel manufacturers Canam Group. The Claremont factory specializes in building materials for bridges across North America. Recently, the company had heralded such large projects as renovations on the Tappan Zee Bridge just north of New York City.

However, the Claremont plant faces staffing challenges related to a workforce shortage, Vice President Dominique Blouin said. With about 150 workers between the factories floor and offices, nearly 20 jobs for welders remain unfilled.

“We’re probably running at 60 percent of our capacity, so there’s plenty of room to grow,” Blouin said.

Blouin and Human Resources Manager Tammy Ayeers shared concerns related to the lack of applicants for welding jobs with the senator, noting that manufacturing jobs suffer from longstanding misconceptions about safety and cleanliness.

“Things have changed in manufacturing,” Shaheen said. “It’s a different world than it was 20 or 30-years ago.”

Potential workers also need a high technical aptitude as measurements of even massive bridge beams must be accurate within a quarter inch.

“We are looking at creative ways to keep growing and building,” Ayeers said. “We are trying to figure out how to get our capacity up while also ensuring that we get people in.”

But a workforce shortage is not unique to Canam. In fact, it’s a theme that has been the subject of several forums in recent months with Shaheen, Rep. Ann Kuster, D-2, and Gov. Chris Sununu.

Following years of city efforts aimed at developing the once-vacant mill buildings along the Sugar River and attracting larger factories to River Road, a low unemployment rate has stymied further development. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, New Hampshire has a 2.8 percent unemployment rate and Claremont’s unemployment rate sits around 2.2 percent.

The national unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in January 2018. According to Federal Reserve data, an unemployment rate of about 5 percent is considered “healthy,” indicating that businesses can expand job offerings and fill vacancies.

Between the major manufacturers in the city, more than 200 jobs remain unfilled.

The tour also came on the heels of legislation Shaheen introduced in April to fund replacement of structurally deficient bridges.

The Strengthen and Fortify Existing Bridges Act directs the Department of Transportation to establish a program to assist states in rehabilitating and replacing structurally deficient bridges. The bill is currently  in the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

New Hampshire has nearly 270 structurally deficient bridges requiring nearly $7.5 billion in repairs, according to a report from the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. A 2017 report from the American Society of Civil Engineers also gave the state’s bridges a grade of “C-,” placing the state below the national average.

 

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