Making Apprenticeships Accessible to Professionals of All Ages, Michael Bell Wins Champion for Industry

Welcome to Thomas Insights — every day, we publish the latest news and analysis to keep our readers up to date on what’s happening in industry. Sign up here to get the day’s top stories delivered straight to your inbox.

Throughout 2020, Thomas will be honoring the achievements of distinguished company leaders and managers in the manufacturing industry. Every quarter, we will present these respected pillars of industry with the Champion for Industry award. Nominated by their peers, Thomas Champions for Industry are leaders who embrace innovation, inspire their colleagues, dedicate themselves to finding trailblazing solutions, and drive business forward.

This quarter, Thomas has selected Michael Bell, CEO and Founder of Synbyo and current chair of the Sacramento Valley Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) to be the next Champion for Industry. Although Bell describes a day in the life in his position as "very complicated and hectic," it seems like he has handled the chaos quite well; Bell completely revamped his startup's business model in the midst of COVID-19 and continues to work with SME to develop an apprenticeship program in the state of California.

According to his nominator Heather Morrow, Bell has "molded his career to facilitate a long vision as an outlet for discovery and innovation." 

Ensuring Apprenticeship Programs Flourish in California

As the current chair of SME, Bell has been working with the organization to create an official cohort through the adult education system of Sacramento to develop a new apprenticeship program. In the newly designed program, professionals both young and experienced can learn on the job and work their way up in the industry with an official certification. The program is slated to officially launch in Q1 2021. 

"There is no standardized or official credential to recognize what it means to be a seasoned, journey-level machinist in addition to other occupations with that same structure," Bell explained. "So we wanted to have an opportunity for individuals who have already been in the game for five, 10, or even 20 years to demonstrate that they meet all or some of those elements for getting that credential."

Advocating for Industry Workers, From Apprentices to Seasoned Employees

Through his work on the SME apprenticeship program, he's gained an even deeper understanding of the importance of apprenticeships. He recognizes that apprenticeships aren't only opportunities for filling the skills gap, but also a way to ensure that industry workers are supported and advocated for throughout their careers. 

"Almost every single company I've talked with over the past five to 10 years already does part of that apprenticeship program," Bell said. "But the apprenticeship program will standardize the learning outcomes for the employers, offloading the need to create that structure within their company. It also standardizes the wage scale to reduce poaching. That was one of the complaints that companies had locally where they had individuals switching jobs because somebody would pay a little bit more than others."

Bell hopes the new apprenticeship program will create a standard for compensation, skillsets, and education across all industrial careers, similar to the standards behind degrees, but without the debt and with more on-the-job experience. 

"We now have this apprenticeship program in which people make money while they're learning," Bell explained. "They gain experience while they're going through the program, and at the very tail end of that four-year process, for example, when compared to a degree program, they're making just as much money, but now they've got four years' experience, they've made money, and there are no student loans associated with it."

Launching a New Business in a Global Pandemic

Although launching an entire regional apprenticeship program should be more than enough to keep Bell busy, he's also the CEO and Founder of his own startup Synbyo. He started Synbyo last November to become what he called the "WeWork of industry," but after COVID-19 made shared workspaces practically impossible, Bell pivoted his business to become a systems integrator for a variety of needs for industrial businesses, including prototype manufacturing, smart manufacturing, and workforce development. 

Bell explained that while founding his own company has been rewarding, knowing when to delegate and when to take on tasks independently has been a challenge for him.

"The hardest part is not jumping on every opportunity that comes my way because I understand how potentially lucrative it could be," Bell said. "Then at the same time, I realize all the work it's going to take to get to that point."

COVID-19 actually forced him to prioritize his efforts and time, he said, so he can better maximize productivity on the tasks that are of highest priority to him.

"If anything falls outside of that that can't already integrate into what I'm doing, I just have to ignore it or just kick it over to some partners. That's been challenging," he said. 

Finding a Qualified Workforce

After Bell led Synbyo in its efforts to help industrial businesses with workforce development, he noticed a common factor: companies often struggled to find a qualified workforce. However, he explains, that this isn't because there aren't enough skilled workers on the job market.

The companies are just not looking in the right places. 

"They're not taking the necessary steps to be proactive and engaging with education partners. They're not at the table, in the classroom, at career fairs, at workforce development events, and being part of the solution as much as they should be, Bell explained. "So there are plenty of opportunities. It just takes a little willingness, a little initiative on behalf of the employers to just reach out to their local economic development board or the workforce development board or their local high school and community college."

He emphasizes that working with local education partners won't just help fill a job opening, it will also continue to benefit industrial companies in the long term.

"[Education partners] are having a hard time getting employers to realize that investing their time is valuable for the longevity of the company because it leads them to a more qualified and streamlined workforce into their business, long-term," Bell noted. "The thing that needs to switch over is getting companies and organizations to start thinking long-term instead of what fires they need to put out over the next month or so."

Inspiring The Next Generation of Industry Professionals

For those who aren't quite ready to dive into Bell's upcoming apprenticeship program just yet, he recommends going to maker spaces at libraries and community colleges to get their feet wet. 

"Through that experience, people can gauge exactly what aspect of manufacturing sparks their interest," Bell explained. "The foundational step is exposing people to a variety of aspects of manufacturing. A lot of people have this misconception that modern manufacturing is what it was like back in the '50s in a standard production facility."

Do you know an outstanding industry professional leading the way for progress in the sector? Nominate them as a Thomas Champion for Industry today!

Image Credit: Provided by Michael Bell