This Wednesday, November 5th at 6:00 pm, Jamie Sauer from the Maker Professional Training Program will be at CLP-West End to talk about the training program. The Maker Professional Training Program, through funding from a Department of Labor Federal grant, offers a free 90-day job training program for unemployed and under-employed people in the Pittsburgh area. The MakerPro teaches individuals next-generation digital making and machinist skills which they can use to find manufacturing jobs or create their own start-up companies. The classes are taught at a makerspace called TechShop, in the Bakery Square section of East Liberty, Pittsburgh. There the participants can get hands-on experience using laser cutters, CNC machines, water-jet cutters, milling machines, CNC routers, welders, 3D printers, and more.
I recently got to talk to Jamie about the program. It is helping to fill the skill-gap that local manufacturing employers are experiencing and it’s helping people develop new skills and find gainful employment in full-time careers in manufacturing. The program is bridging the gap between “making” and manufacturing: it’s teaching people how to turn their affinity for making into a fulfilling career.
The Maker Professional training program has a monthly enrollment so they are constantly reaching out to find and help people gain employable skills as quickly as possible. There are over 100 people in the program and they are adding and placing more participants on a monthly basis. This is the first program of its kind through the department of Labor and it is quickly gaining steam since its launch in May of this year.
They have a website that is open to the public as well as the MakerPro participants – www.maderighthere.me. On the site, people can create their profile, describe their skills and competencies and display their portfolio of finished and current, on-going projects.
If you are interested in learning more about the Maker Professional Program and the types of skills you can learn in their classes join us on Wednesday night at the West End location for a talk, cookies and coffee! The next round of classes begins December 1st!
-Natalie
Eleventh Stack 
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