527. Stop Complaining About the Skills Gap and Do This Instead

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Everybody in manufacturing knows the skills gap is real. Far fewer people are doing anything about it. That tension runs through this entire conversation, and it’s why we’re glad to have Kyra Tillman back on the show as part of our workforce development series.

Kyra runs BTM Industries, a small job shop in Woodstock, Illinois, and she’s a driving force behind the Manufacturing Pathways Consortium, a group of more than a hundred McHenry County manufacturers, every local high school, and dozens of community partners who decided to grow their own talent instead of fighting over the same shrinking pool.

The numbers back it up. This year 186 students applied for the summer internship program and 85 got placed, with grant funding covering 85 percent of their wages.

We get into the parts most people skip. How do you actually build an internship that works when your team is already slammed? Why do so many shops still say they don’t have time for an inexperienced kid? And how did this group push back on a new Illinois foreign language requirement that would have gutted high school manufacturing programs, and win?

There’s a bigger idea underneath all of it. The shortage isn’t only a skills gap, it’s an opportunity gap. Most students have no idea these careers exist, and the fix isn’t complicated. Open your doors, bring kids in, and let them try the work. Whether you run a shop, sit on a school board, or just want to see your community thrive, this one’s a blueprint you can copy.

What’s Covered in this Episode

• (0:00) Why workforce development gets its own series, and welcoming Kyra back
• (1:56) Kyra’s path to owning BTM Industries, a third-generation Woodstock job shop
• (4:13) MPC: 100+ manufacturers, every local high school, one focus: the talent pipeline
• (5:59) Why it works: stop playing the victim and do something about it
• (8:48) Inside the summer internship program: 186 applied, only 85 placed
• (10:53) Building a real intern plan instead of winging it
• (15:16) It’s a manufacturing experience, not a polished college internship
• (16:15) CLA: helping manufacturers find millions in savings and revenue
• (17:23) Nick’s intern Peter and the value of learning what you don’t want
• (20:00) Why this program is oversubscribed when others can’t fill seats
• (22:40) The funding model: grants cover 85 percent of intern wages
• (25:16) Saving CTE programs from Illinois’s new foreign language requirement
• (27:45) IMTS Job Shops Workshop and Networking Reception, September 15
• (28:39) Putting machined parts on guidance counselors’ desks
• (32:46) Connecting with students who don’t yet know what they like
• (35:00) It’s an opportunity gap as much as a skills gap, so open your doors
• (36:42) Scaling means hiring beyond the shop floor, from coders to accountants
• (40:09) Why we love the quality of SMW Autoblok workholding
• (41:36) The results so far: 400+ interns, 46 now working in manufacturing
• (44:00) Help solve the problem: Let’s get more manufacturers involved
• (47:15) How to replicate this: start with your local schools
• (49:30) Summer events, the Rockford party, and an IMTS kickoff

Resources Mentioned

• Manufacturing Pathways Consortium
• CLA
• IMTS
• SMW Autoblok
• Full Episode Transcript

Connect with Kyra Tillman

• Manufacturing Pathways Consortium
• BTM Industries

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• Website: https://www.MakingChips.com
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