GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Northeast Wisconsin is a manufacturing region, with one in four positions being tied to the industry. Six of the eight Great Lakes shipbuilders are in the region too.
And now, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is teaming up with the U.S. Navy to help fill the skills gap.
For the past 15 years, NWTC has been working with local shipbuilders, like Marinette Marine and Fincantieri, to help train and supply the workforce it needs to fulfil contracts.
“We do have a technical diploma in welding, here at NWTC, both at our Marinette campus and our Green Bay campus. We have a partnership with Fincantieri where Fincantieri will hire new hires with little to no experience in welding and they will come to us at NWTC and they will go through a pretty intensive five-week boot camp to learn those fundamentals, to really understand what being a shipbuilder is like,” said Meredith Jaeger, vice president of college advancement at NWTC.
And now, thanks to the U.S. Department of Navy and a $579,181 STEM grant, NWTC will expand those efforts.
“Our goal is to increase both the number of individuals who are coming to NWTC to earn a credential in welding or metals trades but also to help our industry partners identify folks who can come work for them as well as gain their training to work at the employer while they’re getting paid,” said Jaeger.
Every fall, for the next three years, NWTC plans to use the funds to host Welding Rodeos in both Marinette and Sturgeon Bay. The event will showcase welding, as teams create art sculptures from scrap metal. And there will also be welding simulators and employers on hands to recruit talent.
“To let community members know, not just the people that are part of the teams, but the community in general to understand what careers are available to them in welding and metals trades in both Marinette and in Sturgeon Bay,” added Jaeger.
The hope is the annual events will continue to attract talent to an industry that has the potential to keep growing.
“We have about 670,000 full time positions across our 18 counties and with about a fourth of them in manufacturing. Most companies would tell you they would grow if they could only find the people that is needed, so this will greatly help get more people interested in the industry,” said Barb LaMue, president/CEO of New North.
The Welding Rodeos will kickoff this fall.
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