Kap
I have been teaching for going on 18 years now, and you seem to have quite a good list started there. I have some lathe info for you should you wish, though it is "proprietary" to a training program I will be doing with another company, and customized to a program I am starting next month - should it be released to the general public, this company would send hooded ninjas armed with the most painful killing weapons and bad breath after us both. I will try to edit it to just a "Gist". send me a note via the interplanetary message system that this board uses.
You can evaluate in three days - I always give it three days for the initial evaluation though. What I look for in a minute though. Why three days? Well, day one the guy is unsure of you, and surroundings, let the guy or gal get their feet under them, and used to the surroundings. Maybe they had a crappy nights sleep, I know this happens to me on day one of any job. You as well, may be a bit on edge - new guy/gal, what do I expect - whatever. Day two, they are still nervous but have a bit of a feel and familiarity of the work area, and you are a bit more familiar and forgiving of them, and perhaps yourself, and also more prone to speak honestly about expectations, and able to judge better how they actually are. Day three, a day of either ease, or not.
I look for the makings of a trainable machinist by looking at the following. Initiative, craftsmanship, personal pride, and the ability to listen , take direction, and ask for direction. Initiative - I look for this in a very simple way. something on the floor like a rag right in the middle of an aisle, big gob of grease on the bench, trash in the aisle, work area, or bench. Does the trainee just look at it dumbfounded, "not my job", or take a bit of initiative to pick something up. Work areas, do they have a bit of pride in it.
Craftsmanship: does the person do the simple task of taking care of their tools, maybe cleaning the part off of chips after a run, putting the parts in a tray if applicable with the idea of not damaging the part. Does the guy clean the vise thoroughly - or chuck jaws - after being told that once - to prevent chip marks? Do they check tools after shown how, or just wait until sparks fly and the first scrap part comes off.
Personal pride - the way they treat themselves. "It is not my job" flys with me like a lead baloon, and is my instant sh*# list terms. This also flys with craftsmanship, but also extends to the guy calling me - the trainer or boss "dude". Anybody "swearing" just to impress me or show me they have that right to do so, or to show "Hey, I am a shop dude, I can swear like granddady in the mills" is also SH%$ list material. I realize people swear, but nobody has to impress me with it. It is even as simple as do they change their clothes after each shift or every other shift, or do they freaking shower and brush their teeth every third day. I know that is harsh, but think about it, CNC that involves advanced skills like programming, fixture design, and indicating and setting offsets to the .0001 takes some detailed attention. It is the idea that the guy wants to make the job right, and maybe even wants to improve over the job run. On a rate job, the guy may fret a bit over being behind rate, or set-up time, even when the situation and circumstances are totally against them, and not of their doing. They realize this is a "time is money" thing, and at least seek help rather than make excuses, and make you aware things are not going well quite a bit in advance...rather than "well, the job sucked, not my problem". Wants to do well, be a good person, and realizes that their work and habits reflect their own personal character to others.
Ability to listen - trust - Crappy excues and lying are true "list" issues with me....Something breaks because something happened, even when the trainee screws up - tell me the truth - stuff happens, we all screw up, and we get over it and learn from it. You forgot to lock the insert, opps, we hav ll done it. Set an offset positive instead of negative? Yup, been there. The machine is not always junk, we all have had "Operator malfunction". Excuses???? It will happen again and again...... I have to trust you, and you have to trust me. I will tell you how to do something, if you have questions, you better ask, and OH, take notes!!!!!!!! If you take notes, I will work with you to re-inforce this, refine your notes and processes, and make your operators notes and skills better. If I have to come back time and time again to show you the same freaking thing, and you just stand there like a lump, forget it..... I could have done that job myself...and a heck of a lot faster. If I have a comment about your work to help you improve, hear me out..it is not personal, it is my comments to make you better. If you have an idea, tell me!!!!!!
After three days, I can tell if I want to go forward and invest the lessons, shop profit in your case, nd taxpayer money in mine - beyond basic button pushing to make a great CNC machinist. If I even invest into basic button pushing at that point - they could even screw that up.
Oh BTW, I do look for this in my students, and in the past had many "three day wonders" wash right out on me. At one time in my pollyanna days, I really thought I could set them all straight, but now, I realize that each student is a reflection of my teaching skills to my industry counterparts. I got picky this past ten years, washed out the druggies If they are still butt stupid and/or lazy after three days, they tend to wash out within that time. I get some high power students these days, the slugs tend to hate me, and the good ones are trusted quite a bit.