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30-05-2012, 08:55 PM | #1 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: S.E. Qld
Posts: 968
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G'day all, Will try not to drag it out...! You may recall the kerfuffle with cmi (industrial) re. Ford last month. A few of us today were laid off at Toowoomba Metal Tech., with, it would seem a gradual wind down over a few weeks, unless a buyer steps in. I know it is everywhere at the moment ( poor buggers at the Hastie group too). Anyhoo, me , mid 50's, Patternmaker, very much a dying art, unlikely to get anything close.. Unfortunately (!), a bit of emotion creeps in, a bit of an iconic place , the dear old T'wba Foundry, goes way back to the 1870's, evolved into the famous "Southern Cross" windmills, irrigation etc. , munitions for the war effort, etc. etc......so there you go...... Manufacturing is almost but not quite (unless you're specializing in mining??) dead in Australia... Goodnight
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30-05-2012, 10:44 PM | #2 | ||
E-series fan
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Brisbane, Qld
Posts: 280
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Will only get worse next financial year. Sure it would be a lot to do with global and Australian economic problems, but Labor are going to make manufacturing in Australia even less attractive from the 1st of June. Sorry to hear of your current circumstances, best of luck.
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30-05-2012, 10:57 PM | #3 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 18,987
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did my apprenticeship in a large high production foundry..
spent a fair bit of time in the patternshop for the machining side of it.. full of oldschool patternmakers.. a truly outstanding clever can do people.. on of my biggest regrets is not taking in enough of these old guys knowledge at the time.... |
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30-05-2012, 10:58 PM | #4 | ||
Awesome
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: In my own little world..Everyone here knows me :)
Posts: 9,401
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Sorry to hear about your job Loonar. Hubby and I just both lost our jobs last week as the company we worked for, closed down. 10 people lost their jobs in one day. Sure, it is not a lot when compared with other companies, but that is 10 more people looking for employment.
Sadly, skills such as yours, will be lost within a few generations and we will be poorer for it. Hope that something comes your way quickly. Cheers Col
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30-05-2012, 11:06 PM | #5 | ||
Lyminge, Shepway, Kent
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Geelong - Go Cats
Posts: 3,197
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My sympathies Loonar. There must be a place for rare skills, surely.
Chin up. |
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30-05-2012, 11:09 PM | #6 | |||
Donating Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Morayfield
Posts: 28,092
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Loonar, It is very sad to see these trades disappear. I hope you find some more work.
It would be great if you can link up with the local historical society to pass on your skills to others. I know you would have a lot of interest. Perhaps you can start up a small foundry and do boutique jobs like for people that make model engines. Quote:
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30-05-2012, 11:14 PM | #7 | ||
GT
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: SYDNEY
Posts: 9,205
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im sorry to hear , i am disheartened by all this unemployment that is coming upon this contry all of a sudden . WTF is going on ?? why is everything shutting down ?
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30-05-2012, 11:16 PM | #8 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Vic, Ormond
Posts: 2,208
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time to retrain much of the Australian work force into an industry with a complete/comparative advantage.
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WTB. Black BF front door trims, BF wagon books, terry ducting.
The Daily's Build. http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11349360 Weekender: '69 VW Notchback http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthr...24#post4531824 |
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30-05-2012, 11:22 PM | #9 | |||
GT
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: SYDNEY
Posts: 9,205
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Quote:
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30-05-2012, 11:23 PM | #10 | ||
Awesome
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: In my own little world..Everyone here knows me :)
Posts: 9,401
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We are actually quite lucky, Jack was offered another job within 30mins and started the next day, and I have been offered 2 other jobs, however I am taking a few months off to play mum for a bit before my youngest gets too old.
At least we were lucky,...so many other people are not...tis only going to get worse for a lot of people out there... Cheers Col
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30-05-2012, 11:31 PM | #11 | |||
Where to next??
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Sydney
Posts: 8,893
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Quote:
Hope things improve fast for the people out of a job....
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___________________________ I've been around the world a couple of times or maybe more....... |
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30-05-2012, 11:34 PM | #12 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Vic, Ormond
Posts: 2,208
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Quote:
Without getting into the emotion of the fact that no one wants to lose their job, which is terrible. The economics of the situation is, back in the 1870's when this factory in the OP started, this was a new industry with over 100 years of growth ahead of it. Industry's come and go, just like the mining industry recently, the trick is to encourage workers to start or retrain to be eligible to grow new industry's. And don't quote me on this figure but something like 30% of jobs in 10 years don't exist today. Manufacturing is one of those industries that cant remain competitive in a developed nation. What is happening today in the west with will one day happen in India and china i think, as they become developed, demand better pay rates, working conditions, etc which drive up production costs until the jobs eventually go offshore again, perhaps to south america or Africa. And so the circle of life continues.
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WTB. Black BF front door trims, BF wagon books, terry ducting.
The Daily's Build. http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11349360 Weekender: '69 VW Notchback http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthr...24#post4531824 |
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31-05-2012, 07:25 AM | #13 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: S.E. Qld
Posts: 968
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P.S., as a bit of an addendum to this, we believe Ford (Aust) ensured i.e. paid (directly/indirectly) for our last holiday break over the Christmas/New year period, so, ta v. much and to all the well wishers thank you for your gracious comments and i note a lot in similar circumstances......
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31-05-2012, 12:08 PM | #14 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,527
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Quote:
Tooling,moulds, machines,equipment and workers will be either scrapped,sold on or moved to maybe greener pastures I remember a few years ago in the steel manufacturing trade , it was cheaper to buy aussie made steel off shore than it was in our own country Pritty sad |
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31-05-2012, 12:31 PM | #15 | ||
GT
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: SYDNEY
Posts: 9,205
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i know about moving with the times . but in the process we are becoming a bunch of govt dependent morons without skill , please dont get me wrong , but stamping papers and typing on keyboards , decision making about money , and punching numbers , or i should say ( swiping a bag of frozen vegies past a scanner for a living ) arresting somebody , or driving them somewhere , whilst it might bring the country into the future , it is not going bring us forward as a human species , there was once inteligent people around , now you can buy your degree by paying fees to a university which cannot discriminate against you for any reason . the majority of australian citizens will be that dumbed down it isnt funny and worse yet they wont even know it and think they're cluey .
i better leave this topic now . i'm not happy about these things . as a senior tradesman , i have seen engineers that trained me and engineers today , the difference is going from very intelligent constructive people to nowadays having contractors on your contacts list so you can speed dial them to pull you out of a breakdown situation with a bandaid on a weekly basis . Last edited by gtfpv; 31-05-2012 at 12:37 PM. |
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01-06-2012, 08:32 AM | #16 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,527
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Quote:
Even in the 15 years i was in the metal trade, goin from a low end scale job upto management level, i saw the trend in the less hands on approach but the funny thing was, anyone text book trained,or newish to the field,i wasnt scared to get out and show how its done,where as many who have gone from the floor to the office,cant be bothered helping or on passing a skill Look at the employee job turn around between jobs, theres just no longivity in anything wether employers or employees Theres no incentive to learn anything, earn a pittance for your first 3 years learning a trade or earn 3 ,4 maybe 5 times an hour flippin burgers or delivering pizzas,these jobs arent long term,but the hourly rate draws them in Im all for ,stay in school,learn a trade or join the forces (trade),but what trade do we teach today thatll have a demand tomorrow ??? |
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