When Northeast Wisconsin Technical College’s 44-foot mobile CNC lab made an appearance at Bonduel High School, the pieces fell into place for junior Race McClone. McClone, 16, is planning a career in manufacturing. If he becomes a mechanical engineer and welder as he plans, it will be another in an increasing number of successes for NEW Manufacturing Alliance, NWTC and other supporters of manufacturing.
October is Manufacturing Month in Wisconsin. Statewide, 16.1 percent of jobs are manufacturing related. In the 14-county NEW North region, one in every four jobs is in manufacturing.
In 2006, the NEW Manufacturing Alliance was created to “foster collaboration between manufacturers and educators in the promotion of manufacturing and development of a future workforce.” The manufacturing workforce is aging at a greater rate than the US economy as a whole, “and the lack of qualified workers is beginning to impact manufacturers’ ability to compete in the global market,” according to the Manufacturing Institute, affiliated with the National Association of Manufacturers. The alliance is attempting to change that in northeastern Wisconsin. READ MORE