NWTC revamps training center to redefine career paths

MARINETTE — For those who want to make career advances or change jobs, there’s hope.

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College celebrated renovations to its North Coast Marine Manufacturing Training Center last Tuesday. The open house showcased the partnership between businesses and industries in the area and the new way employers train the next generation.

“Instead of a student having to take a one-year welding course, the avenue that a lot of companies are taking now is, ‘We’ll hire you with no experience and pay to train you.’ It’s a different avenue with the same result,” said Matt Lowis, full-time marine welding and shipfitting trainer at NWTC.

NWTC’s center is a middleman between the area’s industry and its employees. Employers like Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Kimberly-Clark or Johnson Controls develop classes with the college to train their team members in beginner, intermediate and advanced techniques like welding, computer numerical control (CNC), or soft skills like leadership and communication.

This works for an older generation that’s already in the workforce, too. The area enjoys a low unemployment rate, but that can mean a skill gap, where there are plenty of people to do the work but not enough knowledge to do it, said Lisa Francour, manager of corporate training and economic development.

Getting a job doesn’t mean someone can never be a student.

“Many are choosing to go to the workforce first. They do come back to NWTC, it just looks different,” Francour said.

Ryan Flores, a welder for Fincantieri Marinette Marine, had just finished a five-week class at the center.

“If you perform well, you’re good to go. Basically, you graduate, and you go straight to work,” Flores said.

Every Monday to Thursday for 10-hour shifts, Flores learned the common welds for the shipyard — something he has some familial familiarity with.

“My grandfather — he was a machinist and welder, too. He was in the Navy,” said Flores, whose family moved from Puerto Rico to Marinette. “Ever since a young age, I’ve always been welding with him.”

He said having the welder title just felt good — the classes were a chance to build his skills and learn new things.

“Keep an open mind and be willing to take advice,” Flores said.

The center can be an essential lifeline for contracted help in the area — it often tests and trains contractors so companies can hire them permanently.

Even though NWTC has trained 15,000 people with six on-site, full-time trainers and other part-time subject matter experts, the building and its programs often go unnoticed. However, the center has been open since 2012 and wants to expand with other companies using its services—its training even spans to healthcare.

“Because our name has marine in the title, people think only Marinette Marine employees have access to training here,” said Heather Peterson, maritime workforce solutions partner of corporate training and economic development.

Francour said they are willing to meet with employers to see if NWTC can help solve everyday problems for industries throughout the area.

They even offer a “Spanish in the Shipyard” class to teach native English speakers some manufacturing terms in Spanish.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration recently designated NWTC as a 2024 Center of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education.

Flores thanked the instructors for diversifying his skills at the ceremony to celebrate the renovations.

“It’s been very helpful. I feel like I’m following in my grandfather’s footsteps, and I hope that I make my family proud.”