PORTSMOUTH – More than 30 representatives from Seacoast-area manufacturers, business organizations and educators recently convened at Great Bay Community College to discuss how to meet the automated manufacturing workforce needs in the region.
The discussion was the second in a series of automated manufacturing business roundtables that are being held around the state by the NH Center for Automated Manufacturing and ApprenticeshipNH, partnering Community College System of NH programs.
The partnership is a collaboration between all seven of New Hampshire’s community colleges and ApprenticeshipNH to tailor automated manufacturing curriculum to meet evolving employer needs and develop shared programming and outreach efforts across the community college system.
Funded by a workforce grant from the State of New Hampshire to CCSNH and apprenticeship expansion grants through the U.S. Department of Labor, the roundtable series launched in Keene in April 2024.
“Cheshire and Sullivan counties have the highest percentage of workers employed in manufacturing, followed by the counties in the Seacoast area. It made sense to begin our outreach efforts in these areas,” said Phil Przybyszewki, partner development and outreach specialist for the NH Center for Automated Manufacturing.
Dr. Cheryl Lesser, president of Great Bay Community College, was impressed by the enthusiasm and ideas shared by the local business community at the Seacoast roundtable, saying that “the connection between what employers need in the workforce and how CCSNH meets that need is critical.”
Participants at the roundtable shared their concerns about reskilling or upskilling current employees to keep pace with rapid technological changes such as robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, nanotech, biotechnology and more. Area employers also discussed challenges posed by the aging manufacturing workforce, declines in younger workers entering the field, and the need for professional development training so younger workers collaborate effectively with other employees.
“As a representative of one of New Hampshire’s many small to mid-size manufacturers struggling to meet our workforce development needs, this event reaffirmed that we are not alone, but that we have a plethora of untapped resources to help,” commented Kim Nicols, coordinator of employee growth and development at TURBOCAM International.
Insights provided at this and other roundtables will be used to create an aligned automated manufacturing curriculum across all of New Hampshire’s community colleges. The aligned curriculum will support a skilled statewide workforce and lay the foundation for more registered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs within the manufacturing industry.
ApprenticeshipNH supports employers developing Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) that combine on-the-job learning with technical training through the community college system. Tracey Jackson, hub coordinator for ApprenticeshipNH, says that the insights from the roundtable will guide efforts to attract more apprentices to manufacturing programs.
“We heard nearly every roundtable attendee say they needed employees with soft skills. That tells us that professional skills, as well as technical skills, is an important part of the manufacturing curriculum,” she said.
The advanced manufacturing roundtable in Seacoast was created through the joint efforts of CCSNH’s NH Center for Automated Manufacturing, Great Bay Community College, and ApprenticeshipNH.
