This isn't an unusual issue; just about 75 percent of manufacturers are facing a moderate-to-severe in need of skilled workers and that number will only continue to grow as baby boomers go into retirement. Companies across the nation are really missing out on potential revenue because they can’t find adequate employees to stay up with rising demand.

 

Various manufacturers had resorted to traditional means of recruitment, including Precise Tool. After years of posting on job boards, billboards, and ads on the radio, they still were not receiving the applications they were looking for.

 

In 2012, Gizzi had an unique idea: he determined to set up a school that would train people to be the qualified CNC machinists and programmers Precise needed. That year, he opened the doors to the Precise CNC Machining Institute (PCMI) in Rochester, New York.

 

“Even though the contract manufacturing job market was expanding, the number of people training for the industry was decreasing. We discovered an enormous opportunity there: we could extend a real, life-changing career to people and solve our labor shortage.”

 

PCMI takes in approximately 8 students every program. Those who complete the program will be ready to begin a position in manufacturing after graduation.

 

Students learn the ins and outs of manufacturing by participating in a 14-week program that suits from 7:30am-4pm Monday through Friday. The syllabus consists of topics like safety and blueprint readings in addition to tooling, speeds, and programming for a number of machines.

 

One significant benefit of the program is that the students get paid to learn. That’s right, Precise Tool gives each student an hourly wage for the full-time, 14-week program.

 

“We invest quite a lot in our students because we need them as high as they need us,” said Gizzi. “We're basically paying them to train to be expert machinists who will hopefully work for us in the future.” Over the last seven years, Precise has hired a majority of its graduates from the program.

 

Gizzi added, “We hire a lot of the students who graduate the program, and they allow us to run more machines on our floor than ever before. Without a skilled workforce, we would be not capable to fulfill orders. PCMI was a huge undertaking for us, but the benefits have been amazing.”

 

This article is originally posted on TRONSERVE.COM