Over the last few months, our Manufacturing Spotlight series has highlighted professionals working in various roles throughout the manufacturing industry, and given readers a closer look at what careers in manufacturing really look like. The purpose of these conversations and articles is to give individuals who may be considering a career in manufacturing a realistic, no nonsense look at life in the industry.

For our latest installment, we spoke to Beau Trembly, a CNC Machine Operator at Straumann USA. This article on Beau will be our third and final feature on employees from Straumann. Beau, like many other of the CNC Machine Operators we’ve spoken with throughout our Manufacturing Spotlight series, was a graduate of the Advanced Manufacturing Training Expansion Program (AMTEP).

AMTEP, focuses on providing manufacturing training, at no cost, to unemployed, underemployed and inexperienced career seekers in order to help those people move into fulfilling manufacturing careers. Let’s take a closer look at Beau’s career and the role AMTEP has played in his success.

Beau’s Career in Manufacturing

Straumann USA is a global leader in the development of dental implant products, solutions, and related tools for the dental industry. Beau’s role as a CNC Machine Operator has him utilizing his manufacturing skill set and constantly embracing new challenges.

“I handle machines, I change tooling,” Beau told us, “I’m constantly making adjustments on the floor…and I’m trusted with some expensive equipment.”

Not only does Beau enjoy his responsibilities at work, but working with a company that develops dental supplies and products is something Beau says he is also genuinely enjoying. In fact, Beau had his eye on starting a career in the dental or medical fields for years.

“I’ve wanted to get into Manufacturing since high school. I was always interested in manufacturing and the medical industry. I take pride in what I do.”

While Beau has had his heart set on working in manufacturing from a young age, it’s not uncommon for new manufacturing employees to be relatively new to the idea of working in the industry. One reason manufacturing is beginning to attract a young demographic of career seekers is the fact that these individuals, with the right attitude and work ethic, can learn the necessary skills it takes to thrive.

Even Beau, someone who has had a passion for the industry since high school, said he benefited greatly from the skills he gained throughout the AMTEP courses.

The Crucial Skills Beau acquired Through AMTEP Courses

The foundational skills that are taught and developed during the over 3oo hours of AMTEP training courses  are designed to help CNC machine operators succeed from day one on the manufacturing floor. The NAMC training program, which is a grant-funded opportunity, has helped countless people thrive and become gainfully employed after graduating. In fact, of the 459 people who have graduated from the program, 393 of them have been placed in jobs (that’s 85%).

For Beau, the AMTEP training courses helped him turn his interest in manufacturing into a tangible career.

“I was already able to read prints,” Beau told us, “But I wasn’t able to actually operate machinery until (AMTEP).”

AMTEP also gave his Beau a real look inside a number of manufacturing plants, where a few of his misconceptions regarding the manufacturing industry were disproven. After visiting real manufacturing facilities and working on real machinery, Beau came to a realization.

“I thought a manufacturing facility might be like a dark machine shop, with oil all over the floor,” Beau recalled, “but (the facilities) looked more like labs.”

Start Your Manufacturing Career with AMTEP

In addition to the countless hours of valuable training experience, AMTEP gives trainees the chance to see what working in manufacturing really looks like. If you have an interest in working in manufacturing like Beau did, AMTEP can help you get ahead of the game, and give you a sense of what your day to day life would look like at work. When asked  if Beau would recommend the program to others, his answer was simple.

“Well, yes. I already recommended it to my cousin.”