Congressman Wied joins manufacturing leaders to discuss workforce needs

Manufacturing leaders from across Northeast Wisconsin joined Congressman Tony Wied and technical education leaders for a conversation about one of the industry's most pressing challenges: building the skilled workforce needed to remain competitive and grow.

According to the NEW Manufacturing Alliance’s 2026 Manufacturing Vitality Index, 76% of manufacturers surveyed anticipate difficulty finding talent, with machinists and other skilled trades among the hardest positions to fill.

Hosted by Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) at its North Coast Marine Manufacturing Training Center in Marinette, the roundtable brought together leaders from Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Samuel Pressure Vessel Group, and Cruisers Yachts, along with the Wisconsin Technical College System, NWTC and a current NWTC student working in the industry.

A consistent theme from employers was the experience gap emerging as longtime employees retire. Manufacturers are focused not only on attracting more people into skilled careers, but also on helping newer employees build the technical skills and experience needed to take on increasingly complex work and grow into the roles experienced workers are leaving behind.

“The workforce challenge in front of us is bigger than any one employer or one solution,” said Dr. Kristen Raney, president of NWTC. “We have to think about where the next generation of workers will come from, how we help people already in the workforce continue to grow, and what employers will need next. That’s why conversations like this matter — we can see the challenges together and start building the solutions together.”

Participants also discussed the need to broaden the workforce pipeline — reaching students earlier, connecting more adults to skilled careers and creating opportunities for workers to build skills and advance over time.

That pipeline includes students like Ashtyn Patneaude, a Marinette High School graduate studying Automation Engineering Technology at NWTC’s Marinette campus while working at Caterpillar in Menominee, Michigan.

“For me, NWTC made sense because it was affordable, close to home and had exactly the program I wanted,” Patneaude said. “When I look around some of these labs, there are only a handful of students preparing for careers that so many local employers need. There are a lot of opportunities here, and we need more students getting into these programs.”

The discussion also underscored that for employers, growing that pipeline is only part of the challenge. Manufacturers also need to accelerate how quickly newer employees build the skills and experience needed as the workforce changes.

NWTC is a significant part of Northeast Wisconsin’s manufacturing talent pipeline, consistently producing the most welding technical diploma graduates in Wisconsin each year. NWTC trains over 7,000 new hires and incumbent workers annually at the North Coast and throughout the district by providing specialized training around the needs of the region's employers in maritime, manufacturing, and more

Held during Manufacturing Month, the roundtable reinforced the role that strong industry-education partnerships play in keeping Northeast Wisconsin’s manufacturing workforce — and the employers that depend on it — ready for what comes next.

Explore NWTC’s manufacturing and skilled trades programs or learn more about the North Coast Marine Manufacturing Training Center in Marinette.