Machinists needed for Door County manufacturers. This high school program wants to help.

INSTITUTE - There are other ways to find a lifelong career in Door County besides working in tourism, hospitality and the arts. Like machining, for example.

A year-old program for Peninsula high school students aims to give them a head start in that much-needed trade locally with immediate job skills and post-graduation credits, and one business says it's already bearing fruit.

Launched last October, the Door County Machining Program teaches metal fabrication and CNC (computer numerical control) machining skills to participating juniors and seniors from Sevastopol, Sturgeon Bay, Southern Door and Gibraltar high schools. The hands-on program is run by the Sturgeon Bay campus of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in partnership with the school districts and local businesses that sponsor its tuition, with the lab at Sevastopol.

Those who graduate from the two-semester program learn to read blueprints; basic machining operations like working on lathes and manual mills, drill presses and surface grinders; set up and operate precision instruments like micrometers; do G-code computer programming for CNC machines; and basic CNC machine operations. They also earn credits toward both high school graduation and a technical diploma program at NWTC.

The need for such a program is immediate in Door County, where manufacturing plays a large role in the economy not just locally but across the state and machinists are necessary to make that happen. October is recognized as Manufacturing Month in Wisconsin, and state figures say manufacturing is the largest contributor to its economy, accounting for nearly 19% of its total economic output and employing about one in six Wisconsin workers.

And people with CNC machining skills, or who want to learn them, currently are in high demand in Door County.

"CNC machining is one of the fastest-growing industries in Door County right now," said Garrett Sowl, program instructor and CNC machinist at Therma-Tron-X in Sturgeon Bay. "There are around 10 businesses in the county that are machine shops or have machining, so there are tons of job opportunities.

"What the program does is give (students) these entry-level skills to start working right away. … It's really a great thing for local businesses."

Chris Moore, president/CEO of N.E.W. Industries in Sturgeon Bay, noted that today, just about everything a person uses in their lives owes at least some part of its existence to CNC programming.

"What you find is if you learn to be a machinist, you'll almost always be employed," Moore said. "It's such a sought-after skill. … The single biggest constraint in our business is having enough people to run those machines."

Sowl said one of the biggest hopes of the CNC program is to help slow "brain drain" from Door County, offering high schoolers about to graduate a chance to make a career on the Peninsula instead of moving away.

"So many kids graduate high school, go to (college) somewhere else, then leave the county," Sowl said. "This can help keeping our workforce local.

"I'd like to see students start working at the companies that sponsor this program. I'd like to see some payout into the community … students take the program, stay in the community, have a career in the community. That's why this was created."

The high school program has been positive for N.E.W. Industries, Moore said.

"It gives students a chance to get some familiarity with what CNC machines are, and to find out if they have potential interest in doing it long-term," he said. "For us, it's an obvious fit. When you have students realize they have some interest in CNC machine operation, now they have the chance in high school to learn about it."

People looking for work with a local manufacturer might be able to get hired without CNC experience currently − "A lot of places, they're hiring bodies right now just to fill the jobs," Sowl said. But Moore said there's a significant difference between new employees who've studied CNC machining in school and those who learn on the job.

"One of the most important things is, they've already established their interest and aptitude in it," Moore said. "How CNC machines work, how to read the drawings − they're well in advance of someone just coming in off the street.

"When people come in with no CNC background, you're talking about at least a year, maybe two years. And the learning never stops. It all just continues to move so fast."

While the program focuses on CNC machining, Sowl said it also can serve as a feeder into other manufacturing-based programs or jobs, such as becoming a welder or electrician. Of the five students from its inaugural year of 2022-23, two are students this year at NWTC in diesel mechanics and information technology while a third is committed to finishing the CNC program at NWTC.

Moore said N.E.W. been involved with training high school students at some level since he bought the company in 2000. He said N.E.W. currently has four high school students working there in something resembling an apprenticeship, including a student in Sowl's class.

And he looks forward to what the countywide NWTC program can provide to his business and other manufacturers and machine shops in Door County.

"It's an association that just makes absolute sense for people who want to be involved with that kind of technology," Moore said. "It's just a win-win for both students and us."

FYI

The Door County Machining Program runs for two semesters at Sevastopol School and can accept up to 12 students per semester. It is open to juniors and seniors attending Sevastopol, Sturgeon Bay, Southern Door or Gibraltar high schools. For more information, call Sevastopol principal Troy Schaefer at 920-743-6282 or NWTC Sturgeon Bay at 920-746-4900 or visit nwtc.edu.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County industries need machinists, so high school program helps