Business View Magazine l October 2022

29 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 10 CAL I FORNI A MANUFACTURERS & TECHNOLOGY ASSOC I AT ION impacts there might be on that energy issue. That includes a sustainable, reliable, and affordable supply of electricity, independent of one-off climatic events. Education and training is another benefit of CMTA membership. The Association partners with the state-run Employment Training Panel (ETP) – a conduit agency that provides on the job training resources for companies that further the economic causes of the state. CMTA’s Training Services department works closely with the ETP and Association members to create new training programs – those might Hastings acknowledges, “The nice part about this and the challenge in the 2020s and 2030s is that so much of what we do now is technology-based that no one is wielding a sledgehammer over an anvil and a hot fire all day. We are at full utilization of technology and machine skills. CNC training is now the most important training, because it’s a person operating a machine that can be done by anyone who wants to make a good living, work hard, and contribute to society. All of these trends revolve around the fact that our workforce is so diverse – young, old, male, female – and with the advance of STEM training, we can ensure that we have opportunities for everyone.” CMTA recently held its first ever Women Making California event, which featured women leaders, executives, and line workers from manufacturing companies throughout the state, as well as female legislators, to have an open and honest discussion about what the future could look like for women in the manufacturing sector. Not surprisingly, it was a huge success. When it comes to advocacy, Hastings maintains that climate issues always rise to the top “because the very nature of manufacturing suggests that we do have emissions issues through our processes. So we’re actively involved in all the climate discussions. We are also concerned about energy issues with public safety power shutoffs (PSPS), that when it gets hot and windy there are some risks around California for wildfires. We’re often asked to shed load so they can manage the resource around the state. That can be quite problematic to tell a site lead to shut down a factory in 12 hours. It’s just not that simple. You’ll either ruin the inline product or ruin your equipment.” As a result, CMTA has been involved with the Governor’s office directly to mitigate whatever