In the nearly four years since Longmont's Advanced Technology Center at Front Range Community College won a $4 million federal grant to teach students how to manufacture parts and high-tolerance devices, it has trained 500 people.
And though the federal grant ends this year, George Newman, director of machining at FRCC's center, said the program is more than able to stand on its own financially and will continue helping companies develop new manufacturing talent.
"Machining is one of the most difficult jobs to fill," Newman said. "High school students don't take shop classes anymore and the pipeline (of new workers) is empty."
Newman estimates that roughly 75 percent of students who graduate from FRCC's one-year machining program, find jobs that pay $30,000 to $50,000, and whose wages scale quickly, with skilled machinists able to command six-figure salaries within a few years of graduating.
Newman's comments came Tuesday morning as part of a Longmont Innovation Tour hosted by the Longmont Economic Development Partnership.
Dave Vanna is director of operations at Longmont-based Circle Graphics. He joined the tour because his company is always looking for better, more efficient ways to make and ship banners. One of the company's key methodologies is to find other companies in other industries who have similar mechanical challenges.
"Often what we find is that companies in different industries don't talk to one another," Vanna said. "But we've found, if we think about who has similar challenges, like how to automate folding, we can learn from them."
This is the second year the Longmont EDP has hosted the innovation tour as part of its efforts to show businesses how they can benefit from the city's hands-on, manufacturing culture.
The Advanced Technology Center works with roughly a half dozen major regional companies to train young machinists. "Front Range manufacturers make a lot of things that none of us are aware of," Vanna said.
Industries such as aerospace, medical devices, cycling and wind turbines are just a few of the areas where a new class of millennial machinists are desperately needed in Colorado, he said.
Without these highly trained workers, companies are struggling to grow. "It's really holding the economy back," Newman said.
Jerd Smith: 303-473-1332, smithj@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/jerd_smith
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