LYNN — North Shore Community College (NSCC) is hosting its next free machinist-training program beginning on Jan. 19.
NSCC has partnered with the General Electric Foundation during the past two years to provide this training.
The goal of the Advanced Manufacturing Training Expansion Program (AMTEP) is to triple the training footprint and build sustainable capacity to create a “ready-to-work” manufacturing pipeline on the North Shore.
The AMTEP initiative is targeted to train more than 900 adult learners and high-school students by 2025 by maximizing capacity and enrollment, expanding manufacturing awareness, and engaging youth and the community to acquire jobs in this field.
Kate O’Malley, AMTEP program manager, said manufacturing is the second-largest industry in the state, with a projected need for more than 100,000 workers over the next six to 10 years.
“This pathway has so many opportunities for growth and stability across many sectors — pharmaceutical, biotech, medical devices, plastics, food and beverage, environmental and more,” O’Malley said. “People should seriously look at the free training as a huge opportunity to change their career, or more importantly, start a career.”
Christine Miller, a Lynn resident, was working as a clerk at a NSCC bookstore when the pandemic hit, leaving her without a job.
Miller began to explore her options and heard of the free machinist-training program.
“I knew I wanted to change direction. I had always been hands-on and paid attention to detail. A friend suggested that the program sounded as if it were meant for me,” Miller said.
Miller successfully completed the program and was hired at a good starting salary by Procter & Gamble before she graduated.
“It was a little overwhelming at first because I didn’t know the tools or the machines, but the teachers were wonderful,” Miller said. “They encouraged us to keep trying until we got things right and were so supportive. I was so excited to be offered a great job even before I graduated.”
Out of 130 adults completing the training through the AMTEP grant, 107 have been employed into good-paying manufacturing jobs.
“There are roughly 500 manufacturers on the North Shore and they are all looking for good people,” O’Malley said. “It’s a great time to enter this sector.”
There are 50 students in the training program at Essex Tech and E-Team/Lynn Vocational Technical Institute, and 160 slots available in 2022.
There is space for 35 more adults to engage in a foundations course at NSCC in January.
Although the program serves a robust-machining need, it also offers electromechanical assembly, and welding for North Shore-industry partners.
There is also the opportunity for contextualized manufacturing classes for students needing to complete their high-school equivalency and those needing help with English-language skills.
Joan Mota, a 2021 spring graduate of NSCC, works at Harmonic Drive as a machine operator. Mota came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic when he was 10 years old and studied machining at Lynn Tech, but didn’t pursue the field after he graduated.
“In high school, the only thing I thought about was playing baseball. I didn’t think about what I would do when it all ended,” Mota said. “I worked odd jobs in manufacturing, landscaping, and truck driving. I lived week to week.”
Mota saw the ad for the training on Facebook and reached out to NSCC about it.
“The program impacted my life tremendously. It opened opportunities for jobs that I couldn’t get interviewed for before,” Mota said. “Now I always feel like I’ll have a job and I’ve been able to save money too.”
Mota said his kids were there on the day he graduated, and told him how proud they were of him.
“That felt great and now I’m able to build a future for me and for them,” Mota said. “I’m very happy I did this program.”
For those interested in the next AMTEP program, there will be a virtual information session on Jan. 6 at 9 a.m. To sign up, visit https://tinyurl.com/4hfn727y.