Moraine Park Technical College held its spring Manufacturing Skills Academy graduation on Wednesday, June 12. The College had 21 students graduate from the program; eight from the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machinist boot camp and 13 from the welding boot camp.

This program was designed to combat the skilled worker shortage by offering a variety of boot camp sessions. The boot camp sessions are free to participants, teach skills that are unique to a particular pathway, and connect students with area employers. The program also combines a 144-hour paid internship with coursework, including Occupational Math, Print Reading, Team Building, Problem Solving, and program-specific courses. Participating internship sites for this session were Amerequip Corporation, Apache Stainless, Generac Power Systems, Mayville Engineering Company, Miba, Mid States Aluminum, Signicast, Tobin Machining, Wabash National, Weasler Engineering, and X-Cel Tooling.

Moraine Park has had 377 participants in the welding and CNC boot camp programs since their induction in 2012.

The spring 2019 CNC graduates are Michael Adam Abitz of North Fond du Lac, Cory Fleischfresser of Fond du Lac, Dustin Marx of Fond du Lac, Troy Riehl of Fond du Lac, Deavin Schaub of Waupun, Nancy Sery of Hartford, Demetrius Smith of West Bend, and Kou Vang of Fond du Lac.

The spring 2019 welding graduates are Christian Bailey-Steenport of West bend, Peter Demmerle of Fond du Lac, Austin Fingar of Redgranite, Nathan Hankins of Chilton, Xavier Kitchens of Fond du Lac, Dimitri Lloyd of Fond du Lac, Ontarius McFerren of West Bend, Joshua Mikula of Plymouth, Armando Murillo of Fond du Lac, Taylor Nett of Fond du Lac, Shane Rau of Fond du Lac, Dani Schommer of Fond du Lac, and Bobby Wiercioch of Fond du Lac.

This year’s graduation speakers were Smith and Hankins.

Smith, a CNC graduate, is grateful for the experience Moraine Park gave him through the boot camp program.

“This program has opened many doors,” he said. “MPTC has given us opportunities that we otherwise would not have. This program was free, and it came with 16 college credits, so some would even say it’s better than free. Some of us will add on to what we’ve learned so far. I know I will.” 

Smith served his internship at Weasler in West Bend and is now a full-time employee.

Hankins, a welding graduate, shared the story of how he thought the opportunity was too good to be true.

“I thought it was a scam,” Hankins said. “It’s so unique and unheard of that it’s nearly unbelievable.”

Hankins’s hesitations quickly faded, and he embraced the entire experience, noting that he made some lasting connections in the process. He completed his internship at Amerequip in Kiel and is a current employee.

“Be confident in your abilities, but don’t ever think you can just coast,” he said. “You don’t get to stop learning and trying just because you got a certificate or a job.”

Moraine Park’s Skills Academy boot camps are free to participating students, thanks to financial support from area businesses including Amerequip Corporation, Apache Stainless, Generac Power Systems, Mayville Engineering Company, Miba, Mid States Aluminum, Signicast, Tobin Machining, Wabash National, Weasler Engineering, and X-Cel Tooling.

Additionally, the welding training was partially funded through a GPR grant that incorporates both Adult Basic Education and welding. The purpose of this training is to allow students to complete both their High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED) and the welding boot camp.

Individuals interested in learning more about the CNC and welding boot camp opportunities are encouraged to attend a Boot Camp Test Drive event scheduled at Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac campus on July 16 and 18, and the Beaver Dam campus on July 23. For more information, visit morainepark.edu/bootcamps.

The full photo gallery of photos can be found here.

Thirteen students from the 2018/19 Jackson Regional Center Welding program, together with their instructor Steve Henderleiter, recently completed the fabrication of canoe/kayak/paddle board racks for the Washington County Parks Department. This service learning project took 52 hours total to complete 3 sets of racks soon to be installed at Glacier Hills, Ackerman’s Grove, and Leonard J. Yahr County Parks; ready for paddling fun this spring and summer!

Each rack will hold 6 canoes, kayaks or paddleboards. Eric Hyde, Washington County Parks Manager, said, “these racks turned out great! We are so excited! It was a perfect partnership with MPTC for students to have this learning experience and fabricate the racks for the parks. So many people are going to enjoy paddling this summer with the whole new rental program we are launching! We are giving each student and Steve a county park pass and T-shirt to say thank you! This plan worked out really well. We used a basic rack design from Minnesota and we also got a conservation/recreation grant from the DNR to help fund the project, along with a good deal from our West Bend Fleet Farm, McNeilus Steel and Acme Galvanizing.”

Anne Lemke, Experiential Learning Coordinator, was on hand to celebrate the students service achievement. Anne said, “wow what a great service learning project! Students reflected on the teamwork it took to build these racks. They told me it was almost like putting a puzzle together, starting with 21 foot pipes, studying a blueprint, then cutting, coping, drilling and welding. Quite a few nights they were here til almost midnight working on the racks after classes. This is a wonderful achievement they can all add to their resumes and showcase to their family and friends for years to come!”

Pictured above from left to right: Washington County Parks Manager Eric Hyde, Thomas Wiesen Jr of West Bend, Connor George of Fond du Lac, Kelly Becker of Slinger, Jerry Russell of Grafton, Cole Baumgartner of West Bend, Noah Doak of West Bend, Cole Schuette of Slinger, Thomas Strom of Kewaskum, Austin Scheid of West Bend, Matt Berlin of Mequon, MPTC Welding Instructor Steve Henderleiter.

For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

Meet Larry Clark, welding, metal fab, and fabrication technologies program instructor. He has been with the College for 18 years and worked in the welding industry prior.

“The last job I had required me to teach most new hires,” Larry said. “When their business got slow, I thought I would try to give back to my field and show other people how to do what I had learned.”

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Moraine Park Technical College held its bi-annual Manufacturing Skills Academy graduation on Thursday, December 13. The College had 23 students graduate from the program; 10 from the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machinist boot camp and 13 from the welding boot camp.

This program was designed to combat the skilled worker shortage by offering a variety of boot camp sessions. The boot camp sessions are free to participants, teach skills that are unique to a particular pathway, and connect students with area employers. The program also combines a 144-hour paid internship with coursework, including Occupational Math, Print Reading, Team Building, Problem Solving, and program-specific courses. Participating internship sites for this session were Amerequip Corporation, Apache Stainless, Fives Giddings & Lewis, Integrity Saw & Tool, Mayville Engineering Company, Metalcraft of Mayville, Mid States Aluminum, Signicast, Wabash National, and Weasler Engineering.

Since the induction of these sessions in 2012, Moraine Park has had 298 students graduate from the welding and CNC boot camp programs.

Those who completed the most recent CNC boot camp include: Darlene Anderson of Fond du Lac, Nicole Busack of West Bend, Robert Fisher of North Fond du Lac, Ryan Gaus of Fond du Lac, Cory Herrmann of Fond du Lac, Kyle Jenquine of Fond du Lac, Montgomery Kikkert of Fox Lake, Carissa Metz of Waupun, Rick Rodriguez of Fond du Lac, and Alex Russart of Fond du Lac.

Those who completed the welding boot camp include: Brennan Bryan of Fond du Lac, Nita Cook of Beaver Dam, Jennifer Donahue of Beaver Dam, Jordan Finley of DeForest, Dave Finn of Fond du Lac, Michelle Flanagan of Plymouth, Casey Hermann of Fond du Lac, Frank Huber of Juneau, Amy Mann of Fond du Lac, Noah Prost of Watertown, Cecilia Tovar of Beaver Dam, Jeremiah Vanderkin-Jus of Fond du Lac, and Brian Wilcox of Fond du Lac.

The graduation ceremony included speeches from students Busack and Mann.

Busack, a CNC graduate, is grateful for the experience Moraine Park gave her through the boot camp program.

“A lot of us have worked dead end jobs, and didn’t know our hidden potential,” said Busack. “Thanks to Moraine Park and our instructors, we all have a chance to find it. This has opened so many doors for a lot of us.”

Busack served her program internship at Signicast in Hartford and was hired full-time prior to graduation.

Mann, a welding graduate, came to Moraine Park in search of a career she could be passionate about. She completed her internship at Mayille Engineering Company (MEC) and was also hired on as a full-time employee prior to graduation.  

“The boot camp program taught me that if there’s something I really want to accomplish, I can do it,” Mann said. “I am standing here today as a welder, a high school graduate, and a newly hired employee of Mayville Engineering Company.”

Moraine Park’s Skills Academy boot camps are free to participating students, thanks to grant dollars from Wisconsin Fast Forward and financial support from area businesses including Amerequip, Apache Stainless, Elkay Interior Systems, Fives, Integrity Saw & Tool, Inc., John Deere Horicon Works, John Crane, Mayville Engineering Company, Midstates Aluminum Corporation, Signicast, SJI/Busse, and Wabash National.

“We are very pleased to participate with Moraine Park’s CNC boot camp again this semester,” Paul Reetz, owner of Ingetrity Saw & Tool, Inc. said. “We have been able to gain quality employees who are advanced on the learning curve.  The program teaches them to become a valuable member of our company by the time they become full-time employees at the end of the semester.  It’s a rare win-win-win situation for all involved in the partnership!”

 In addition, welding training is also funded, in part, through a GPR grant that incorporates both Adult Basic Education and welding. The purpose of this training is to allow students seeking their High School Equivalency Diploma (HSED), the opportunity to take the welding boot camp in conjunction. This training opportunity is open to anyone interested in pursuing their HSED.

Individuals interested in learning more about the CNC and welding boot camp opportunities are encouraged to attend a Boot Camp Test Drive event scheduled at Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac campus on January 23 and 24. Registration is recommended.

For more information, visit morainepark.edu/bootcamps.

October’s Manufacturing Month has wrapped up for 2018, but not without some great efforts put forward by Moraine Park’s staff throughout the entire month.

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Calling all future welders, now is the time to check out Moraine Park’s welding program in Beaver Dam! This technical diploma program can help you earn a welding career in just 1-year.

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Our welding boot camp is free.

Our CNC boot camp is free too.

“But that sounds too good to be true!”

I know. But it IS true. And we love to brag about it.

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Reading and hearing about new career opportunities is helpful. But what if you actually could try them out as well? Moraine Park Technical College is offering a unique opportunity to do just that with its “Test Drive” workshops for welding and computerized numerical control (CNC).
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