Cardinal Mfg: Filling the Skills Gap One Student at a Time

The folks over at the Cardinal Manufacturing program at Eleva Strum High School are featured in an upcoming episode of "Titan American Built"on Maverick TV (MAVTV). Check out a clip here.

Since covering Cardinal Manufacturing in MMT and sister publication, Modern Machine Shop, the program has continued to grow and gain national attention for their innovative work and train model. As this clip shows, they've now entered 3D printing too.

To hear the Cardinal story from instructor and founder, Craig Ceigleski, as well as that of a replica program over at NorthWoods Manufacturing register for the following webinar in MMT's 2015 Educational Webinar Series:

Getting Real about Manufacturing Education to Fill the Skills Gap: Key Elements of a Local Teaching Strategy on August 25 at 2:00PM EST.

New, innovative ways of teaching the hard and soft skills of manufacturing at the high school level are necessary to help fill our skilled workforce gap. Developing a program that functions as a student-run manufacturing business is one such method. It involves students managing real customers, making real products, meeting real deadlines, facing real day-to-day manufacturing challenges, while making real money in the process. Students are responsible for meeting with customers, ordering material and tooling, quoting, manufacturing, invoicing, shipping, maintenance, marketing, and all other aspects of running a business. The company also brings in money that can be used to support the program and pay students profit sharing. This method allows students to make an informed decision about their career paths. You will learn from Cardinal Manufacturing founder and instructor Craig Ceigleski, as well as from the leader of a replica program in Hurley, Wisconsin, how to help establish and support this type of teaching in your local district to fill the skills gap within your own shops.