You may have never heard of them, but there's a growing demand for CNC machine tool programmers and operators in Nowadays.
These operators help maintain the machines that serve several companies in the Valley running smoothly.
Matt Flewn in Stuarts Draft received his training at Valley Vocational and Technical Center before working in several machine shops. He helps maintain the company's machines to make sure the parts they produce are of high precision and quality.
"Everything breaks and you'll have to repair it eventually, so machinists can make everything," said Flewd.
Kevin Rod at Metfab International in Waynesboro also received training at Valley Vocational and Technical Center. He helps with preventative maintenance and is also the company's safety supervisor.
"You have an operator waiting on you to fix the machine and the customers want their parts, so if I can jump in and get it fixed, it's a win-win situation for everybody," explained Rod.
Economic statistics gathered by the Shenandoah Valley Partnership show the need for 162 CNC technician over the next decade in the Valley.
The typical yearly salary is between $40,000 - $47,000, with the potential to go higher.
"I think it's a good line to get into. There's a big future for it," said Flewd. "You need to stay in school, get your papers to be a certified machinist."
"The most rewarding for me is to get the machines up and working when they go down because the operators have to do their job to get paid and the customers expect their parts," said Reed. "So if I can jump in and get the machine up and running with as little downtime as possible, that's pretty rewarding."
