4 Entry Points into Advanced Manfuacturing Careers at Hastreiter Industries
Kylan Hastreiter – August 31, 2020
Considering a career in advanced manufacturing or machining?
There are many ways a person can enter into an industry, field or career. However, many times these routes aren’t obvious, except to the people that already got in. Hastreiter Industries set out to create connections and bridges in order to make the paths into the advanced manufacturing and machining industry less opaque and more accessible. As a machine shop, we’ve worked to build relationships with local schools, as well as develop multiple points of career entry, each designed to fit different types of people and their current stage in life. These options include: Youth Apprenticeship, Registered Apprenticeship, Associates Degree and On the Job Training. To preface, all the options include on the job training, whereas one route may be on the job training because you already received formal education or may not need formal education.
There is a huge demand for CNC machining, CNC programming and other skilled trades. These four options highlight the avenues through which individuals can obtain valuable careers in advanced manufacturing.
1. Youth Apprenticeship
Within a 15 to 25 minute radius of Marshfield, there are 10 school districts. 25% of the local tax revenue comes from manufacturing. Not only is the area heavily into manufacturing, it is accompanied by a wealth of talent. Ultimately though, a student or individual cannot pursue a field that he or she does not know about.
Hastreiter Industries has worked to build relationships with schools, provide tours and other community engagement activities to help provide exposure to machining, as well as offer school/work opportunities.
Through Youth Apprenticeship, students spend time working on site at Hastreiter Industries learning valuable skills while honing their critical thinking and soft skills within the context of advanced manufacturing.
They simultaneously take related coursework either at their local high school or technical college. This creates an early mix of practical, hands on experience (that the student gets paid for), and formal education as a Junior and/or Senior in high school.
At this rate, by the time he graduates high school, he will have half of his associate degree finished.
Story
Sam was taking a metal working class where he learned both welding and machining. With a strong preference towards machining and a passion in milling, his teacher identified him as a candidate for Youth Apprenticeship but needed to find him a place of employment that would enable him to further excel. In-part because of our relationship with the school, the Technical Education [Department] Coordinator reached out to Hastreiter Industries to determine if we would be interested in bringing Sam on as a Youth Apprentice. He started with us in May 2019. In May of 2020, Sam graduated from High School and has since enrolled into a Registered Apprenticeship program through the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and Mid-State Technical College. Due to his Senior Year Youth Apprenticeship plus the summer of 2020, Sam has been able to get credit for his Youth Apprenticeship, reducing the 4 year Registered Apprenticeship program down to 3.5 years.
Another Story
For Fall 2020, we have another Youth Apprentice, who is a Junior at another High School. For his required coursework, while being a machinist Youth Apprentice, he is taking 4 hours of classes at Mid-State Technical College in lieu of classes at his local high school’s technical education department (where he already completed all the metal fabrication classes). At this rate, by the time he graduates high school, he will have half of his associate degree finished. By the time he graduates college, one year after High School, he could have at least 1.5 years’ worth of full-time work experience (3 years part time). What an amazing way to launch one’s career!
Youth Apprenticeship is a great option for high schoolers that are interested in a particular field. It bypasses the standard burger-flipping part-timer route and navigates directly into a skilled career. Not only does it look great on a resume, but it truly is equipping the student for the future and afterwards they can roll right into a Registered Apprenticeship or college program such as the Machine Tool Technician program.
2. Registered Apprenticeship
A Registered Apprenticeship typically takes 4 years to complete. During the first 3 years, the Apprentice attends class once every other Friday. While in the classroom for 8 hours, they get paid their normal wage. While at work, they are given intentional on the job training, their classwork supplementing work with theory. At the end of 4 years, the Apprentice receives their Journeyman’s card and special training to be able to mentor any Registered Apprentices that may come after them. The Journeyman’s card is seen as equivalent to a two-year degree program.
Versus the full 2 year associates degree, Registered Apprenticeship is a great option for high school graduates that learn better outside the classroom, or even non-traditional students (such as not in your early twenties or fresh out of high school) as it allows for working a full-time job and getting paid while going to class. However, getting into an associate’s degree program is often easier than a Registered Apprenticeship because the apprenticeship requires you to already be employed at a company – whereas a two-year degree can lead to getting hired.
3. Associates Degree
An associate degree, such as from Mid-State Technical College, are truly in high demand by businesses. The most populous degree that Hastreiter Industries hire and look for is Machine Tool Technician; Mid-State has one of the best programs for this in the state, if not country.
Not only do we hire graduates from these high caliber technical colleges, we also help funnel students/employees into Mid-State while they also work part-time with us. Essentially every single student in the 2 year Machine Tool Technician Associates degree program has a job at a local shop by their first semester. This is in stark contrast to 4-year degree holders that cannot find a job in their field. Other individuals from all walks of life can go for a technical degree with the opportunity to work 20-25+ hours per week prior to graduation. This also means that an individual can graduate with a degree and have work experience in their new field prior to pursuing a full time position (which they likely can roll into at their place of employment that they worked at as a student).
This is a great option for fresh high school graduates, individuals that are unemployed (State of Wisconsin has a program called WIOA to pay 100% of technical college tuition for unemployed or underemployed individuals), or other people looking to get into a new field as the job outlook is so great.
Story
We had an applicant that was extremely excited by the type of work that we do but was not qualified. Mid-State Technical College, during the summer, offers 3 FREE machine tool college classes in a program called Metal Mania. The classes often include milling and CAD. We encouraged the individual to attend, and midway through we hired him. He has now enrolled into the full 2-year program (minus the several credits he already received for free) for Fall of 2020. He is able to work about 20 hours a week (no class on Friday) and should be able to graduate from college with no debt.
4. On the Job Training, Up-Skill Your Skill
No matter what route we hire from, every position has on the job training, particularly since we are in a line of work where there is no limit to what a person can learn.
This 4th category refers to individuals that are not going for an associate’s degree or apprenticeship while working at Hastreiter Industries. Solely on the job training can take a couple different forms and can be for a variety of people. Such a route is typically for medium and high experienced people (whereas low experience is best served by a combination of formal education and on the job training – such as options 1, 2 or 3 above). Often times the medium or high experienced people have already done one of the options above (particularly number 2 or 3) which means the on the job training is opportunity for them to further increase their skill level. Alternatively, rather than having formal education, a person can achieve medium experienced through a related trade such as wood working with CNC routers or turning.
Sole on the Job Training is a great opportunity for individuals already in the industry that wish to “move up” in what they are capable of, or are in a related industry and would like to move into metal working or get involved in the types of industries we’re in such as Aerospace/Defense/Energy/More.
Conclusion
If getting into advanced manufacturing, CNC Machining or CNC Programming interests you, we’d love to hear from you. You can email Kylan at hiring@hastreiter.industries to take a look at your resume for one of our open positions, provide a tour if you’re really not sure what Advanced Manufacturing and CNC Machining/Programming is. Or hit the button below to see what open positions we have for CNC Machining.
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