DANVILLE -- Despite high unemployment numbers, one local company wants to hire. But ThyssenKrupp's Presta division in Danville is having a hard time adding staff.

It's all about the numbers and we're not talking about money. Each applicant has to take a math test. Unfortunately for ThyseenKrupp, most candidates have failed to pass it. Because of that, the company is still looking for about 20 new employees.

As employees eat lunch Friday, company officials expected to have more people in the break room by now. Instead, most applicants have not made it past the H.R. office.

"We're having trouble with people being able to complete the math test or actually pass it," said Meredith Cumbow, H.R. manager.

Cumbow spends her days looking at dozens of resumes. She says the company gets five to ten new ones every day but most candidates don't have the math skills to make cam shafts.

"Well we take small measurements here so they have to be able to have good math skills in order to read the different instruments we use and check different percentages and rates," she said.

We reported on this issue last spring during our 'Who's hiring?' series. Today's machine operator must be good at math but still know their way around equipment.

"Some people may have strong computer skills, but maybe mechanical aptitude, they may have it but they're not strong in it," said team leader Jason Cotten, "And others may be very mechanically inclined and have strong mechanical skills but may have to work more on the computer skills."

It's a problem that has kept Cumbow's office busy for more than a month.

"We need them as soon as possible," she said, "My staff is constantly interviewing and going through resumes."

We hoped to show you some of the machine operators at work but corporate officials would not let us get video of the equipment. ThyseenKrupp currently has 220 workers in its Presta division.

Company officials also say many applicants have been unwilling to work second or third shifts. Because of that, they've raised the starting wage for those shifts by 75 cents an hour.

Reported by A.J. Bayatpour
Posted: February 5, 2010
Company Wants to Hire But Can't Find Employees