Manufacturing Magazine August 2018 | Page 29

Q : WITH A DIVERSE WORKFORCE VITAL FOR THE FUTURE , WHAT STEPS DOES STAR RAPID TAKE TO PROMOTE EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES ?
years , the West will look to China in the same way it looks to South Korea or Japan for goods . If the US believes it has problems competing today , I ’ m afraid it ’ s not going to get easier in the future .
“ The question is , if Chinese quality is rising , how does a company like Star Rapid , or any Western company , prepare itself ? You need to invest in key aspects like training , automation , 5S and lean manufacturing . It is crucial that companies become lean in order to compete with new industry developments . Individual companies that follow this model will have a promising future , no matter where they are in the world .”
Q : WITH A DIVERSE WORKFORCE VITAL FOR THE FUTURE , WHAT STEPS DOES STAR RAPID TAKE TO PROMOTE EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES ?
Styles : “ At Star Rapid , we have found that generally Chinese women are better engineers than Chinese men . They generally have a greater thirst to learn and implement what they have learned . My two best CNC machinists today are young women who joined Star Rapid directly from a technical apprenticeship school in ZhuHai .
“ In my personal experience , women take their careers much more seriously than men . They generally have a greater thirst to learn and implement what they have learned . At Star Rapid , we actively encourage the hiring of women for CNC machining and tool making and ensure they are equipped with the right skills to progress in their roles .”
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