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StuffMadeinMA.com • 2 0 1 9 • S T U F F 7 grams under a Massachusetts strategic plan. The Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP) is one of several organizations helping companies get involved with the program and con- necting them with educational resources. Unlike a more familiar model where people finish their educa- tion and then enter a job, Leslie Parady, workforce development manager at MassMEP, said apprentice- ships combine about 150 hours of technical instruc- tion with 2,000 hours of on-the-job training – essen- tially a year of full-time work. "You do them in parallel, and you're sort of on two sides of a ladder, moving up each side at the same time," she said. "The advantage for the person is that they're going to have somebody else paying for their education. The advantage for the company is now they're developing the workforce they need." Safe from offshoring Diane Ferrera, director of human resources at AccuRounds, said the apprenticeship program is part of the company's strategy to recruit and retain talent- ed employees. She said some students and parents are wary of manufacturing careers because they get a bad rap as being dirty, or because U.S. manufacturing is seen as declining. AccuRounds specializes in preci- sion work, often for the defense and aerospace indus- tries, which means its jobs are largely safe from off- shoring. It also means that workers there contribute to cutting-edge technology. "Airplanes have about 2 million parts, and we make about 850 of them," Ferrera said. Nicholas Gulley, a CNC machinist who's been working full-time at AccuRounds since 2013 and is about to start the apprenticeship program to improve his skills, said one of his favorite things about the company is the projects he participates in. He's helped make parts for the Mars rover, and for Disney's theme parks. "It's kind of interesting to know just where it comes from," Gulley said. "I always like to learn more stuff and move up. It was perfect for me at this point." - Helder "Larry" Canuto Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 28% Increase in the average annual pay of Massachusetts manufacturing employees from 2008-2018 Continued on page 8 Nicholas Gulley, 24 CNC machinist AccuRounds, Avon Lives: East Bridgewater Computer-minded: Builds PCs in his spare time P H O T O / M I C H A E L PA P E T T I VIDEO LINK SEE PAGE 3