Machining.Blog® is a weekly blog focused on manufacturing career development. It features blog articles on the fundamentals of manufacturing for aspiring machinists. Our goal is to create an interest in manufacturing in the USA. Our writer Matthew Schowalter has worked in manufacturing for 24 years, and he covers the topics that matter to someone starting their career in manufacturing.
“The soft skills the machinist uses are the unseen tools in their box and can directly impact the success or failure of a dreamed after machining career.”
All in Apprenticeship
I was provided with a few opportunities to talk about my STEM project and my career in several schools. It can be a very rewarding experience to a part of. I never saw myself as a speaker or presenter but with my deep knowledge in the subject, I developed a passion for sharing my experiences in manufacturing.
In my twenty-four years of manufacturing experience, I have discovered that manufacturing can be a great industry to work in. I started as a youth apprentice in machining and then served a registered apprenticeship as a Tool and Die Maker. Over the course of my time spent in manufacturing, I was a team leader and a manufacturing engineer.
Cardinal Manufacturing in Strum Wisconsin is a school-based manufacturing program that operates both as a class and a business as well. The students gain real world life experiences while enrolled in the program. These experiences include problem solving and working in professional roles.
Cardinal Manufacturing is a student-run manufacturing program in the Eleva-Strum high school. They recently finished a 10-month remodeling project in the machine shop and classroom. It was a complete remodel which included the ceiling and walls being repainted. They chose a red and white color scheme for the rooms, halls, and manufacturing equipment.
Over the last 5 years, I have been observing the manufacturing industry worker shortage. The drastic change that I have seen over my 24-year career is alarming. While most industries change over time, I believe the changes that are happening to manufacturing are more than that. We are in a worker shortage crisis.
I started my career in tool and die making without having a grasp of what it actually was. Over the years, I have worked with many tool and die makers that said the same thing. I now explain it to people as a tool and die maker makes industrial tools which make parts. There are several main types of industrial tools, they are typically molds and stamping dies.
With the shortage of manufacturing workers in the United States we must start to investigate the situation closer to fill the jobs of today and tomorrow. Besides the worker compensation, benefits, work environment, and career development topics that may influence career decisions in manufacturing, we should now look closer into the following topics.
Cardinal Manufacturing in Strum Wisconsin is a school-based manufacturing program that operates both as a class and a business as well. The students gain real world life experiences while enrolled in the program. These experiences include problem solving and working in professional roles.
