While this article references western Pennsylvania situations, it is applicable everywhere in the state.
“Butler County resident Rob Pushak, 26, trains on a vertical mill on May 7 in the South Side of Pittsburgh, as part of a machinist training program held by New Century Careers in the BotsIQ building. (Photo by Ohad Cadji) SOURCE: PublicSource.org)
“Max Inks attended Pennsylvania State University for three years before he dropped out, a decision prompted by his underwhelming performance in classes toward an electrical engineering degree.
“He transferred to the Westmoreland County Community College, where he started taking courses in robotics and electronics. One day, a professor sent him on a tour of a 3-D printing manufacturing facility.
“‘I think this was a God-given gift for me to find this, and it’s literally in my backyard,’ Inks said from the workshop of The ExOne Company in North Huntingdon, Pa., where he was hired four months after graduation. “No one outside of the industry truly knows that we exist in Pennsylvania, let alone the fact that we can print in stainless steel.”
“Without realizing it, Inks, now 24, fell into an occupational sweet spot, one that he said he would have never known about but for his school setback and serendipity.
“In the next 15 years, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development estimates the region will need to fill 144,000 jobs left vacant by workers 45- to 65-years-old who are aging out of the workforce.”
