Free manufacturing camp at RELLIS preparing people for new, higher paying jobs

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – There’s a lot of work being done at the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) to help grow the manufacturing workforce across the state and nation.

“It’s something that a lot of people may think is kind of hard to get into, but we’re showing that it’s not that hard and some pretty easy things you can do,” Technical Lab Manager, Nathan Panak, said.

Panak worked the past week to train 12 people with CNC- Computer Numerical Control- machines. This effort will position them for manufacturing jobs, averaging an income of over $95,000.

In addition to new jobs, this opportunity will give people the chance to advance in their current job and teach others.

“I get to do a lot of training with people and showing them how to run their machines, and what type of machine to use for making what type of parts. So I’m excited about being able to bring this training down to the Houston area and how people be able to come in and see us and do more training,” student Daniel Robles said.

Robles works as an applications engineer at the Haas Factory Outlet in Spring, Tx. He said the travel to the one-week camp on RELLIS Campus was well worth the training.

“I wanted to come up here and check it out for myself and see if it’s something worth recommending. And I really enjoyed it so far,” he said.

Beyond helping others get jobs in the growing industry, Panak says it’s contributing to growth across the country.

“We don’t want to rely on foreign manufacturing… we want to keep skilled jobs in America. So it’s very important that we are machining as much as we can,” he said.

This unique class is being offered for free with support from the Department of Defense. It takes 30 hours of training over the span of one week. Anyone can sign up, it does not require any degree or past experience. Click here to learn more.