The Millennials, also known as Generation Y, will become more important to reliability engineering, predictive maintenance fields as well as the workforce in general over the next few years. So far Millennials have gotten a bad name for themselves. Other generations refer to them as being lazy workers, disrespectful of authority and having a sense of entitlement; however, there needs to be a strong advocate for generation y in the workplace. The Keeping the Millennials article states that over the next two decades the cost to recruit and train Millennials will be huge. So huge that if proper steps to integrate these workers are not taken the turnover cost could run into the billions. Even though Millennials have grown up with more feedback and praise than other generations, many believe that this translates into higher expectations for success. The article posted on Industry Week goes into more detail and provides practical advice and strategies for a multi-generation workforce.

One problem with reliability and predictive maintenance is that not many people are familiar with the fields. This leads to tow issues 1) companies do not understand the full benefits of using a reliability engineer or predictive maintenance expert and 2) the younger generations are not aware of these fields during the time they are choosing their career paths. With Millennials being such an important factor in the near future, more time should be devoted to expanding their knowledge now. It is also extremely essential that companies become familiar with how the different generations work, and their different expectations. That way companies can do a better job of integrating multiple generations and continue on the path of success.

If you are a reliability engineer or predictive maintenance professional looking to advance your career, here are 10 tips on career advancement. Most career experts agree that the best time to look for a new job is while you are still comfortable in your current one. If you are starting to get the feeling that there is no opportunity for career advancement at your current job, then the next best job may be waiting for you somewhere else. Here are ten proven tips to help you progress in your career:

1. Talk to you boss
2. Ask for more
3. Volunteer for boards
4. Sharpen your people skills
5. Be innovative
6. Find a mentor
7. Sell yourself
8. Keep learning
9. Network
10. Build your reputation

Each tip is explained in more detail at the All Business website. Although the first couple of tips seem to relate more to people who currently have a job, nut are looking for a new job, the rest of the tips are applicable to everyone. The basic concept of each tip can be useful for anyone, with or without a current job, looking to advance in their career. A reliability engineer job may be hard to find using ordinary methods; however, by using these tips and knowing where to look, will better your chances of finding your dream job. NextUp Careers is a website devoted to the reliability engineering and predictive maintenance fields. So if you are looking for a reliability job or predictive maintenance job, or you are a company looking to fill a position in these fields, check out what NextUp can do for you!

Not many people understand the need for the stimulus package more than the people in the manufacturing industry. People like a reliability engineer that rely on the manufacturing industry for projects, are starting to wonder when the stimulus package will kick in. Although Vice President Joe Biden stated that the current administration “misread” how bad the economy was when they took office, President Obama recently said the stimulus package was not designed to work in four months, but rather over the next two years. Which begs the questions, how much worse will the economy get if it takes the next two years for the stimulus package to work? With unemployment at 9.5%, the highest level since 1983, there is a much greater need for the stimulus package to kick in now. President Obama now warns that unemployment will likely top 10% in the upcoming months.

The stimulus package is supposed to help the economy recover and create jobs. The creation of jobs is something the country needs sooner rather than later. Now only 52% of Americans believe the stimulus package will restore the economy. With jobs being so hard to find, people in specialty fields like reliability engineering and predictive maintenance will have a better opportunity at finding a job if they stay current with trainings and new techniques. The need for a reliability engineer or a predictive maintenance professional will increase as organizations look to make the transition to a “green” environment, and realize the importance of maintaining their equipment. More information can be found on the stimulus package and other economic issues at CNN Money.

Of organizations worldwide, 58% plan to make cuts to their workforce in 2009. This number is down from 66% of companies that planned on making cuts just 6 months ago. Only 5% of those companies plan on have to make significant cuts (greater than 10% of their workforce), compared to 13% that made those cuts 6 months ago.

The United States based companies were among the more likely to make cuts (74%) 6 months ago, but the new reports shows that fewer companies (64%) plan on making cuts during the remainder of 2009. In comparison, the number of European companies that planned on making cuts 6 months ago (71%) has only dropped down to 70% for the companies that plan on making cuts during 2009. And more than 1/3 of all companies (34%) said they will continue to hire key talent, even as they reduce their overall workforce. They insist on doing this because of the importance of having new talent for the future of the organization. More can be read on Mercer’s Leading Through Unprecedented Times global survey at Industry Week.

Talent Management is a factor that can be overlooked during a recession. However in order for companies to successfully come out of the recession, they need to understand that continuing to hire employees is key. For many industries like manufacturing and aerospace, it is even more important to continue hiring predictive maintenance professionals as well as reliability engineers. Reliability engineers and predictive maintenance experts can be extremely useful to companies and hiring them will only benefit your company in the future. Reliability jobs and predictive maintenance jobs are available, now the organizations need to manage their talent to they are used to the best of their ability.

Michael Vann, a business advisor with the Vann Group and one of the principals in NextUp Careers, the first career portal dedicated to reliability engineering and predictive maintenance professionals was recently quoted in an article in the business publication Business West.  The article entitled “High Tech Start Ups in a Recession” is about how the current economic environment is the right time to start up a company – if your opportunistic.

In the article, Vann was asked  why start-ups require less capital today.  He stated “Five years ago, developing our platform without a lot of capital would have been impossible, but with cloud computing and open-source software development, costs are a fraction of what they used to be,”.  As the article indicates, NextUp is a perfect example of this model as its platform is based on open sourced software and its hosted in a cloud envirionment.

Additional information regarding NextUp can be found at www.nextupcareers.com.

GPAllied, a global reliability and operations solutions provider, has recently announced the opening of an Asia Pacific headquarters in Queensland, Australia, along with regional support offices already scattered throughout Asia and the Pacific.

John Langhorne, GPAllied Board of Directors member, says,”The opening of the Australian operations is a very important strategic decision for not only the short and long term growth of GPAllied, but also our clients’. We feel very fortunate to have built some extraordinary partnerships with our client base over the years, and as a result, our clients have demanded that we be able to service their global operations beyond our traditional boundaries. GPAllied’s entry into the Asia Pacific region is a keystone in our global capability.”

John Langhorne makes a salient point about long and short term growth. To maintain a competitive advantage in an ever-increasing global marketplace, as well as in a struggling economy, companies not only need to meet the needs and challenges of their own clients, but also those of their clients’ clients.

Best wishes to global reliability solutions provider, GPAllied, as they join the Banana Benders of Queensland, Australia!

For those of you looking for a reliability engineer job, updating your resume is one way to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Kim Isaacs wrote an article on kick starting your career by “Refreshing your resume.” The first step she recommends you take is to find your passion. Your resume should communicate your career target with a descriptive headline (e.g. Reliability Engineer with Extensive Background in Aerospace). Your opening objective should be brief, but highlight your top selling points. You should always update your resume; if you have changed jobs or received a promotion, your resume should reflect this. Also include any new skills, including technical or computer skills that you have gained or developed. Kim also writes about the importance of keeping your industry specific jargon updated because buzzwords and keywords are constantly changing. Another recommendation is to start a “kudos file.” This is a file that you can keep projects and successes you achieved over the past year.

The Refresh your resume article gives examples if steps everyone should take when trying to keep their options open. Many times there are hundreds of applicants for the same position, and having a well constructed and updated resume will only put you in a better position to land the job. To be a reliability engineer, you have to have a lot of technical skills, and if your resume reflects those skills and uses the keywords, the odds of you making it to the next step in the process are high. For more tips on writing your resume visit the website of the Resume Lady.