How regional manufacturers and Northland Workforce Training Center built a CNC pathway that provides advanced training for incumbent workers endorsed by their employer.
Key Takeaways
- Experienced operators can take an assessment to show they have the foundational CNC skills, then go straight into Level 2, the setup technician course.
- Level 2 runs 15 weeks of evenings starting January 11, 2027, so people can keep working while they train.
- The pathway was designed with regional manufacturers and is funded through STEP UP, the NY SMART I-Corridor’s workforce program.
A true CNC machinist can read a blueprint, set up the machine, program it, get the right materials and tooling, and make the part. Learning all of that takes years, typically five through an apprenticeship, says Stephen Tucker, president and CEO of Northland Workforce Training Center in Buffalo. So when a group of manufacturers expects to need a couple hundred CNC operators, there is a real question about where those people will come from.
One answer is to post the jobs and take experienced machinists from other employers. About a year ago, Edwards Vacuum, a company already in the semiconductor supply chain, raised exactly this problem at a meeting of the Western New York Manufacturing and Tech Workforce Coalition, which Tucker leads. The company was about to hire a large number of CNC machinists and did not want to do it by taking them from its neighbors. It wanted to help build the pipeline instead. That conversation led to a new CNC career pathway at Northland, funded through STEP UP, the NY SMART I-Corridor’s workforce program.
The other answer is the people a manufacturer already employs. Northland’s pathway was built to move them up, too.
Experienced people can test in
Northland’s pathway has two levels of 15 weeks each. Level 1, CNC Operator, runs in the mornings and is built for people with little or no machining experience. Level 2, CNC Setup Technician and Advanced Operator, runs in the evenings so people already working in the industry can attend. It covers the work that keeps production running: setup and changeover, tooling, workholding and fixtures, offsets, program prove-out, inspection and troubleshooting, with exposure to 4-axis and mill-turn equipment.
Level 2 is intended for people who have completed Level 1 and have about a year of CNC work behind them, with their employer’s support. It is also open to incumbent workers directly. Someone who already has the Level 1 competencies can demonstrate them through an assessment and enter Level 2 without repeating skills they have already mastered.
For a manufacturer, that means an experienced operator does not have to go back through a beginner course to move up to setup technician. Becoming a full machinist still takes years. What the pathway changes is how those years are structured: training comes in 15-week levels a person can complete while holding a job, starting from the level they have already earned. The first Level 2 cohort starts January 11, 2027.
Tucker frames the payoff in terms employers already use. “If you hire someone who is already 75% proficient in what you need, it reduces their time to full productivity,” he says. “And when you’re talking productivity and efficiency to manufacturers, they’ll listen.”
Built from the employers’ needs first
Tucker says employers often come to the table expecting two obstacles: there is no money for a new program, and colleges cannot change their curriculum fast enough. His approach is to set the funding question aside at the start, ask employers to describe the program and the competencies they need, and take on the job of finding the money himself. In his experience, when business and industry take the lead, the funding follows.
For the CNC pathway, about ten manufacturers sat down with Northland, Edwards and Moog among them. They started by confirming the demand, counting the openings, and naming the specific competencies a person needs to succeed in the role. Only then did Northland go looking for curriculum.
Level 1 uses the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) CNC curriculum and is being strengthened with America’s Cutting Edge’s CNC Machine Operator Bootcamp. Northland is also incorporating Haas industry-recognized certifications, beginning with Haas Mill Certification. Roughly two weeks of Level 1 are spent on actual customer production through Northland Manufacturing. Level 2 was developed with regional manufacturers including Moog and Edwards Vacuum and the first cohort is launching in January 2027.
Industry experts teach the classes
The model comes from an earlier Northland program. About two years ago, Northland identified a regional need no one had a program for: finishing and deburring technicians, the people who put the final touches on aerospace and medical-device parts. It built one, and hired industry experts to design the curriculum and deliver the training, including Moog’s master trainer.
“You want to know what the quality and the caliber of the instructor is, right?” Tucker says of employers deciding whether to send someone to training. “The résumé is Moog’s master trainer.”
The CNC pathway follows the same approach. The lead trainer on Level 2 is a master trainer from Edwards Vacuum who works there during the day and teaches at Northland at night.
Employers meet candidates before they enroll
Northland reports 100% completion and 100% job placement for the finishing and deburring program. Part of the reason is how people get in. “In order to get into the program, you got to interview with employers,” Tucker says. “So you’re pretty much guaranteed a job.”
That record carried weight when Northland applied to STEP UP for the CNC pathway. “They saw what we did with finishing and deburring,” Tucker says of the program’s advisory committee, “and they were like, well, this is a no-brainer.” Northland’s STEP UP contract is $250,000, and it expects to train about 75 people with those funds. The first Level 1 cohort started in September.
Where manufacturers fit
Tucker’s advice applies to training providers and employers alike. “Prioritize meeting the needs of the employers,” he says. “If you meet the needs of the employers, the pipeline is always going to be open.”
Edwards Vacuum started this by choosing to help train new machinists when it needed to hire. For a manufacturer with experienced operators already on the floor, the next step is smaller: identify and endorse your incumbent workers who are ready for advanced Level 2 training.
Train the Workforce You Already Have