In-demand apprentice machinists compete for regional awards as industry looks fill vacant jobs

Travis Bayne of New Kensington was focused on cutting a cylinder-shaped piece of aluminum on a manual lathe Friday as part of a competition for apprentice machinists determined to produce a precise, quality machined part as quickly as possible.

“You’re trying to get the job done as fast as you can and get it done right,” Bayne said of the competition at the Westmoreland Advanced Technology Center at RIDC Westmoreland near New Stanton. He’s a third-year apprentice at Kiski Precision Industries in Allegheny Township.

Bayne and the seven other apprentice machinists from six metalforming manufacturers in Allegheny, Westmoreland and Butler counties were vying for the title of Best Metalworking Apprentice in Southwestern Pennsylvania at the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association’s annual competition.

Two NTMA member companies will inspect the machined parts, which will be scored by a quality control inspector. The apprentice with the most points, based on knowledge, skill and efficiency, will be named the winner.

The apprentices are working while undergoing training — 560 hours of classroom work spread over four years and 8,000 hours of on-the-job training through the NTMA — to become journeyman machinists.

Most of the companies that employ the apprentices in the program pay for the instruction, and some even give the apprentices their hourly wage while attending classes, said Liz Blashock, apprenticeship program manager for the regional NTMA.

To get training with a company that pays the costs “is an opportunity you don’t want to pass up,” said Hunter Orischak of Hunker, a fourth-year apprentice machinist at Penn State Tool and Die in East Huntingdon.

Becoming a journeyman machinist is a ticket to a better career, with a “better salary and … eligible for more options in the field,” said Jacob Koelsch of Ruffs Dale, a fourth-year apprentice at Penn State Tool and Die.

The apprentices who were honing their skills on $2 million worth of equipment at the center are part of a workforce of 12,500 machinists in Pennsylvania. They are in demand by employers and are paid a median hourly wage of $23.20 an hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and machining company representatives at the regional competition.

The students who graduate from the NTMA program at the Advanced Technology Center don’t have to worry about finding a job.

But “the hardest part is to find the students” who want to undergo the training, said Byron Kohut, dean of the technology school at Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood.

The jobs are available — there are about five machinist positions for each qualified worker, said Mike Lenhart, a programmer for a computer-controlled milling machine.

“Everybody is looking” for machinists, Lenhart said.

Ideally, candidates should have good math skills, good hand-eye coordination and a keen attention to detail, Lenhart and Lentz said.

Metalforming companies are competing for talent at the career and technology centers and at high schools, where some students can work at a factory while still in high school, said Chuck Lentz, an apprentice supervisor at Hamill Manufacturing Co. in Penn Township. They also will conduct their own in-house training for prospective machinists without any experience.

At a time when other industries and businesses are cutting their workforce, “there’s job security,” Lenhart said.

A Precision Metalforming Association Business Conditions Report released in January said more than a third of the companies surveyed are expanding their workforce.

The industry expects stable conditions in the first few months of the year, and companies are more optimistic about an increase in orders during the next three months, according to same report, which is a survey of 121 metalforming companies in the U.S. and Canada.

Koelsch offers a piece of advice who want to follow in their footsteps.

“There’s high stress” to do the job right and get it done on time.

“You’re working with valuable parts,” Koelsch said, noting that some of the pieces might require anywhere from a day of work to months of labor.