The problem
The skilled trades crisis is real. The average age of a CNC machinist in the U.S. is mid-50s. Trade schools are underfunded. Community college programs teach outdated equipment. Apprenticeships have collapsed.
Meanwhile, new machines are more capable and more complex. AI, IoT, advanced materials, multi-axis machining — the skills gap isn’t just about replacing retirees, it’s about training a workforce that didn’t exist five years ago.
The training that does exist is disconnected from production. A student learns on training equipment with training parameters. None of that translates cleanly to the production floor.