WESTFIELD -Gary Nadeau, lead instructor of Manufacturing Technology at Westfield Technical Academy, said the $500,000 Skills Capital grant from the state that his shop is splitting with Aviation Maintenance Technology, will benefit business and industry in the region. The grant was awarded last week to purchase equipment for vocational education and training programs that directly increase the number of individuals that are prepared to enter high-demand jobs in their community.
Nadeau stood beside an O.D. cylindrical grinder, one of the machines to be replaced, that he said was as old as he was and unsafe. He said grinding is one of the many competencies taught in the shop.
“Manufacturing is a large ball of knowledge,” Nadeau said. He said they will purchase six other machines with the grant, three lathes and three milling machines that will be added to the three of each they already have. These computerized proto-trak machines allow students to learn both manual and CNC (Computerized Numerical Controlled) skill sets. The shop also has four “full blown” CNC machines. With the new machines, students will be able to increase their time on each task.
Nadeau was a machinist himself for twenty years before he began teaching fourteen years ago. He said according to the shop’s advisory committee, comprised of members of the business community, students need to learn both concepts.
Junior Taya Allen, one of three girls in Manufacturing Technology in her grade, on a lathe proto-trak machine. (Photo by Amy Porter)
“It’s all based on discussions with the advisory committee,” he said. Area businesses represented include Advance Manufacturing, Tell-Tool, Berkshire, Whip City Tool & Die, Peerless Precision, and Precise Turning, among others. Nadeau said the support they get from business and industry in general is vital to the program.
“It costs a ton to get and maintain the machines. The companies in the area are our resource to do that,” Nadeau said.
The companies are also a source for jobs. Once the students have completed their junior years in the program, they can work during the summer in the trade, and enter co-op’s (cooperative learning) in their senior year. Nadeau said there is 100% placement for students that want to enter the workforce. A student can earn $4,000 to $7,000 over the summer, according to Nadeau.
Then during senior year, students work in co-op’s in the companies during their shop weeks, which alternate with general education. The students get paid $12 an hour, while continuing their education in the co-op’s. He said the companies work with them and oversee them, and the students have to write down what they do every day. The companies them give them an overall performance evaluation.
He said the students almost always get hired at the place where they coop.
“If I had 20 students, I could place them all,” Nadeau said. Last year, he graduated fourteen seniors, all of whom are still in their jobs. He added that the average wage in manufacturing is $40,000 to $50,000 to start. If a student goes into engineering, they can earn $150,000 a year. “Companies want to keep them, and they get a substantial raise,” he said.
One reason for the success in getting jobs is a skill shortage and aging workforce in the industry.
Kristin Maier, president of Peerless Precision, Inc. on Mainline Drive in Westfield is one of the members of the advisory board. The second generation family company makes mechanical components for aerospace, fuel injections for cryogenic companies, and night vision and thermal imaging for the Department of Defense.
Maier said Manufacturing Technology is definitely one of her main sources of finding employees. Of the nineteen staff members currently working directly with parts and manufacturing in the company, fourteen are graduates of the shop at Westfield Technical Academy.
Junior Ethan Pichetti, working on a milling machine, said, “This is what I want to do after I get out of high school, and hopefully make good money doing it.” (Photo by Amy Porter)
Another young woman is currently doing her coop in the inspection department, working on inspection of pieces from first piece, incoming and outgoing, to the final inspection before customers, “the last line of defense to make sure no bad parts get shipped,” Maier said.
“There is a big skills gap. For a long time, manufacturing precision equipment had a bad name. It was a place to go if you didn’t go to college. Now it’s very high tech, with very clean work being done in our region and on the state level,” Maier said.
Maier said after she took a brief hiatus from the family business, she came back and noticed that 70-75% of the workforce were “on the other side of 50-55.” She worried about what would happen, and started looking at the technical schools. She said the students have been trained well, and are very open to learning how to do the work the company’s way.
Since 2013, she has also hired one co-op student per year, all of whom have gotten jobs with the company. “As soon as they graduate, they have all earned a full-time job,” she said.
Maier said the grant will help the shop to remain competitive.
“From experience, the technology is changing almost on a daily basis. They have to have updated and working equipment, and be trained on the software we’re working with now. It gives them a competitive edge,” she said.
The new machines will also help with the Manufacturing Technology’s adult education retraining program. Nadeau said they partner with the Regional Employment Board to teach adult students from all different trade areas. They offer a 300-hour basic skills machinery program, and are currently piloting a 120-hour quality control inspection program, which he said is a whole other skill set.
Nadeau said the adult students in the program come from all different trade areas. Last year, eight students graduated from the 300-hour program, and all of them left with jobs.
Maier said the retraining program is definitely going to help the workforce. She said there are a lot of young people out of high school and college who were not trained for a skilled job. She said the training programs help to give these people a viable career.
“We need more of the vocational and high schools to be offering adult ed. programs like this,” she said.
Junior Michael Michonski, at the CNC machine, wants to be a mechanical engineer, and fix the high tech machines. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Nadeau said looking ahead, the need for trained workers increases exponentially. That is also what he says to freshmen as they undergo their exploratory weeks, and visit the different shops in the school. Nadeau said he can take sixteen students a year, and once they are in the program, most stay.
He also said that last year was the first time in fourteen years the program wasn’t full, with only eleven students signing up. He believes it was due to competition with the Aviation Maintenance Technology program, which he acknowledges is new and exciting. New machines will help them. Meanwhile, he is ready to recruit freshmen to Manufacturing Technology.
“I always say, give us a week and we’ll give you a lifetime of opportunities,” Nadeau said.
