Building the Next Generation of Manufacturing

Brian Warren on Education, Leadership, Advocacy, and the People Behind the Industry

Manufacturing has spent years talking about the skilled-labor shortage.

We need more machinists. More programmers. More toolmakers. More technicians. More young people who are willing to build careers in the trades. But on this episode of The Manufacturing Alliance Podcast, our conversation with Brian Warren raises a bigger question:

What are we actually doing about it?

Brian brings more than two decades of experience as a machinist and CNC career and technical educator to the conversation. His background includes CNC programming, setup and operation, print reading, shop mathematics, manual machining and, perhaps most importantly, developing the next generation of manufacturing professionals.

His story is about manufacturing, but it is also about leadership, perseverance and what can happen when somebody decides that promoting this industry isn't just part of the job—it becomes part of the mission.

You Can't Build a Workforce Without Building Opportunity

One of the major topics in our conversation was Brian's experience helping rebuild a machining program that had been struggling.

It is easy to look at low enrollment and conclude that young people simply aren't interested in manufacturing. Brian's experience points toward a different conclusion.

Sometimes we haven't done a good enough job of showing them what manufacturing actually is.

Today's machining environment isn't the dark, dirty and outdated factory many people still picture when they hear the word "manufacturing." It's CNC technology, automation, programming, problem solving, precision, robotics and advanced equipment. It creates products for industries ranging from aerospace and automotive to medical devices and countless products we depend on every day.

If young people never see that world, how can we expect them to choose it?

Rebuilding a program means creating excitement around the possibilities and showing students that CNC machining and the skilled trades can provide more than a job—they can provide the foundation for a career.

Industry and Education Have to Work Together

Another major part of Brian's story is the importance of industry partnerships.

Manufacturers can't sit on the sidelines waiting for schools to produce perfectly trained employees. Schools can't build world-class technical programs without understanding what manufacturers actually need. The two have to work together.

Brian's approach has involved connecting students directly with the manufacturing community, exposing them to companies, employers, technologies and professionals beyond the classroom. His students have even used LinkedIn as part of their education, building professional networks before leaving school and connecting with people throughout the machining and manufacturing industry.

That's an important shift in thinking. We're not just teaching someone how to operate a machine. We're helping them become part of the manufacturing community.

Student Success Is the Best Recruiting Tool

One of the most interesting ideas from the conversation is also one of the simplest:

Success creates success.

Want more students interested in manufacturing? Show them students who are already succeeding.

Brian experienced that firsthand when a simple social media post celebrating the work ethic of one of his machining students gained tremendous attention throughout the manufacturing community. The post generated hundreds of thousands of views and sparked conversations with manufacturers around the country.

Think about why that worked. It wasn't an advertisement. It wasn't a stock photo of a CNC machine. It was a real person doing real work. Manufacturing has incredible stories happening inside our shops and classrooms every day, but too often nobody tells them. If we want parents, students and communities to think differently about manufacturing, we have to give them something different to see.

Celebrate the apprentice who just learned a new skill.

Show the student making their first part.

Introduce the young machinist solving a difficult problem.

Show the technology.

Show the opportunities.

Most importantly, show the people.

Manufacturing Advocacy Can't Be a Part-Time Job

Brian describes himself as an advocate for manufacturing and career and technical education, and that advocacy goes well beyond the classroom. The episode specifically explores his approach to what amounts to 24/7 manufacturing advocacy and recruiting.

That idea should challenge all of us in this industry. For decades, manufacturing relied heavily on previous generations bringing the next generation into the trade. A father taught a son. An uncle brought someone into the shop. A family business passed knowledge from one generation to another. Those connections are still incredibly valuable, but they're no longer enough.

Manufacturing is competing for attention. We're competing against four-year universities, technology companies, other skilled trades and dozens of career paths students encounter long before anyone introduces them to machining. That means manufacturers have to become storytellers and advocates.

We can't complain that nobody knows about manufacturing while keeping everything happening inside our facilities a secret.

Prepare Students for a Career, Not Just a Job

Brian's philosophy goes beyond simply getting someone placed with an employer.

In describing his approach to workforce education, he has emphasized helping students develop the technical abilities, reasoning, professionalism, networking, work ethic, empathy, drive and ambition they will need throughout their careers. His goal isn't simply to help students get their first job; it's to help them launch a career.

That distinction matters. Machines will change. Software will change. Automation will change. The technology a student learns today won't necessarily be the technology they're using 20 years from now. But curiosity, problem solving, work ethic, communication, accountability and the ability to continue learning will always have value.

The best manufacturing education develops both.

When Manufacturing Gets Personal

This conversation also goes somewhere much deeper than CNC machines and workforce development.

At the time of the episode, Brian and his wife were walking alongside their son through a battle with pediatric cancer while Brian continued managing the responsibilities of teaching, working and advocating for manufacturing.

It brings another dimension to the discussion about leadership.

Leadership isn't only demonstrated when business is good, the machines are running and everything is going according to plan.

Sometimes leadership is simply continuing to show up while carrying something incredibly difficult outside of work.

Brian openly discusses that struggle while also using his platform to bring greater awareness to pediatric cancer. The result is a conversation that moves beyond manufacturing and reminds us that behind every company, classroom, machine and job title is a person dealing with a life we may know very little about.

That may be one of the most important lessons from the entire episode.

The Future of Manufacturing Is About People

We spend a lot of time talking about the future of manufacturing in terms of technology.

Automation. Robotics. AI. Five-axis machining. Connected machines. Lights-out production. And all of those things are going to play an important role. But none of them eliminate the need for talented people. We still need people who are curious enough to learn the technology, skilled enough to use it, creative enough to improve it and passionate enough to teach the next person coming behind them.

Brian Warren's story demonstrates what can happen when someone takes responsibility for building that next generation instead of waiting for someone else to do it. And there's a lesson there for every manufacturer.

If we want a stronger manufacturing workforce tomorrow, we have to start building it today.

That means partnering with schools.

Opening our shops.

Mentoring students.

Supporting educators.

Sharing opportunities.

Celebrating success.

And telling the incredible stories happening throughout American manufacturing.

Because ultimately, the future of manufacturing isn't just about the machines we build.

It's about the people we build along the way.