In-Demand Career Spotlight
Brett Riggs, ITW Sexton Brett Riggs, in Industrial Maintenance with ITW Sexton, always liked to work with his hands. He enjoyed FFA in high school where he learned some welding, attended Nashville Auto Diesel College, and worked as a millwright helper at International Paper in Courtland before beginning his role in maintenance at ITW Sexton.
He loves that he gets to work with his hands in his job and that he doesn’t do the same thing all day every day. “I look at schedules to make sure supplies are ready for orders, perform general maintenance, check oilers on the chains, water and air lines, help and catch break downs, and sometimes work area shutdowns,” says Brett.
In his spare time, Brett enjoys spending time with family, fishing, relic hunting and working on restoring his 1968 Camaro. He and his wife are currently building a house in the DanvilleNeel area.
There will always be machines in industry and they will always need maintenance, so the field will always be in demand, Brett noted. “The advantages of the field are the availability of work in all different places and settings. You can travel and work as a contractor or be more settled by working full-time for a company,” he said.
Brett suggests Calhoun’s industrial maintenance program for people who are interested in the field and he recommends taking part in some type of apprenticeship or co-op program. “Hands-on experience is important and being multi-skilled is important,” Brett said. The opportunity to work as a millwright helper in a hands-on setting helped Brett get to where he is today, so he recommends the same type of hands-on work to others.
Click here to learn more about a career as a machinist. Included is a career video, wage information, and growth trends. Interested in learning more about in-demand careers in Morgan County? Visit www.careerpathway.info and like “Career Pathway” on Facebook.