ACE Fueling a Machining Talent Pipeline

May 8, 2025 – What started as a tour of a new program has become a pipeline for machining employees.

In 2023, Monica Dirr was invited by the Business Development Board of Martin County, Fla., to check out an introductory machining program that had been recently introduced to Indian River State College.

Monica, the owner of Pace Machine & Tool in Stuart, Fla., learned about the program – America’s Cutting Edge – on the tour, but sought to take away more than just information.

“While the others were talking, I slipped over and gave one of the ACE participants my business card and said, ‘when you graduate, call me,’” Monica said. “And he did. I hired him right away.”

That participant, Ed, who requested his last name not be used in this publication, had initially started his career as a salesperson and marketer.

“I would see listings for CNC operator, machinist, when I was looking for a transition in my occupation and I didn’t really know what it was,” he said. “It sounded interesting.”

Ed signed up for an ACE bootcamp in 2023, inspired by the process of making something. He enjoyed designing and producing parts, from start to finish.

“What I remember most is having my first piece, the first part that I ever made in my hands. Holding it is something that I had never really experienced,” he said. “I realized that this is how things are made.”

Little did he know that his path would cross with Monica’s during her tour of the program.

He described the opportunity as a blessing, noting that the timing had to be perfect for the conversation between him and Monica to happen.

After taking Monica up on her offer, he got to work at Pace.

“What I learned from ACE is pretty much what I’m doing now,” he said.

ACE as a machining training program and filter

The relationship between Pace, Indian River State College and America’s Cutting Edge continued after Ed’s hiring.

Colton Simpson returned from military service knowing he wanted to do CNC machining.

“I just wanted to learn about it. I was curious about it,” the Marine veteran said.

Monica brought him on, but there was a stipulation: he had to go to an ACE bootcamp within his first few weeks of employment.

“And going through the program was a good jump-start to get into machining,” he added.

Monica had come to see the program as a critical part of the hiring and training pipeline.

She said the ACE program “gives people the basic skills” they need to get started in machining – enough for them to be put on the shop floor and trained up in-house so that they can work independently.

But more than that, Monica says the program does much of the legwork of the hiring process for her. Before coming across ACE, she went through the routine of putting out ads for jobs, with little to no success.

Ever since her 2023 tour, the program has acted as her “filter,” enabling her to focus on hiring without investing much energy into the search process.

“It saves you money,” she said. “I went through the routine of advertising and interviewing people. It wastes time. When I go to the school and hire someone out of the program, they’re ready to go.”

A national hiring and training model

Pace Machine & Tool isn’t the only company using ACE as a hiring and training pipeline.

Missouri-based Seyer Industries has described the ACE bootcamp as great not only for exposure, but as a prerequisite for apprentices.

“I see ACE as a recruiting tool,” Chance Henke, workforce development manager at Seyer, said. “We have an apprenticeship that this could serve as a pipeline to.”

In the Lonestar State, aerospace company Mayday Manufacturing has been sending cohorts of its own personnel through the training as they’ve turned to in-house employees to fill their machining needs.

It starts with the right attitude but ends with an investment in employee careers.

“We’ve transitioned into developing and growing our own machinists,” said Craig Barhorst, director of operations. “People that show a good work ethic get opportunities to start training as CNC machinists. What ACE has done for us is give a leg-up to their training and accelerate their exposure. We see it as beneficial for our new machinists or those who show promise to become machinists.”

If you’re a company looking for talent, consider visiting an ACE partner. A full list of partners can be found here.

Contact us if you’d like us to facilitate a connection between you and your nearest ACE partner.