Technical Development Committee Report

October 2026 – by Al Mangels

The NESMA Technical Development Committee (TDC) meeting was held virtually on October 14^th, 2026.

Program Updates

The success of the CASMI SpringWorld event was reported to the TDC, with a reported 1200 attending, reflecting a thriving spring industry, although supply chain challenges still remain strong. But a highlight of the event was the many educational sessions, including the presentation of the SMI 200 introductory course to a small group of students. The key takeaway from that session was that the relatively inexperienced attendees enjoyed the course the most, which was specifically as intended. I was also reminded that an SMI Calendar Events, including all upcoming courses, can be found at this link: https://springmanufacturersinstitute.growthzoneapp.com/calendar

Another key takeaway from the CASMI event in general was the appearance of a few AI solutions, some specifically targeting workforce development, beginning to emerge. This was reported to the TDC educators, who were encouraged to consider adding AI skills to the computer literacy skills as part of the foundational education for those seeking careers in manufacturing.

The SpringMaker curricula project currently continues in two ways: first, we’re accumulating documented knowledge from several sources concerning spring production that might be pertinent to the training and, second, assembling a team of experts to further assist with the course development. We welcome participation from all NESMA members in contributing potential content as well as eventual sub-committee participation.

Educational Initiatives

At the Tech Committee meeting, various representatives shared updates on regional training opportunities and student engagement:

Sharon Lutkus reported that several NVCC students toured the Anomatic plant in Naugatuck, learning about quality control and shipping. NVCC will be hosting their annual Internship Fair on November 18^th.

Jordan Domkowski announced that CT State Tunxis will hold their Manufacturing Discovery Days on January 12^th – 14^th, 2027 in an effort to showcase manufacturing processes such as machining processes, blueprint reading, precision measurement, and shop safety to young people. We also welcome Michele Castiola, the new Advanced Manufacturing Program Coordinator at CT State Tunxis to our TDC, who will work alongside Jordan going forward.

At Bristol Technical Education Center, John Ryan reports that 48 students were out visiting manufacturers, and Mark Jurcyk mentioned students were out visiting Trumpf and will attend the ACM show during October. BTEC has a new instructor (Glen), and will hold an open house on October 29^th: https://bristol.cttech.org/event_view?event_id=1288074&calIDref=150666&eventDate=2026-10-29&feed_type=ss

Sue Bradley at Plainville High School reports that their Career Fair was a great success and that 16 students have enrolled in their Trade Academy. Sue is still seeking speakers from industry to address career path seekers.

Jill O’Brien from Plainville Adult Ed would like to initiate enrichment classes on-site at businesses to supplement their ESL / HS diploma programs. Jill is also seeking to take a group of adult learners on plant tours for about an hour anytime between 4:30 and 7 PM on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Contact obrienj@plainvilleschools.org if interested. Jill further recommended the free, online courses at Charter Oak AI Academy for those seeking to learn AI skills: https://www.charteroak.edu/ai-academy/

At the TDC meeting, and in another subsequent meeting, Keith Sevigny, Cliff Thermer and Alyssa Adler discussed some remarkably interesting pre-apprenticeship programs, both at Goodwin Connecticut River Academy as well as Goodwin University. Goodwin has been trying very hard to provide customized manufacturing fundamentals training specifically targeting NESMA members’ needs. They are seeking to place pre-apprentices in the upcoming Spring 2027 semester. In the Connecticut River program, for example, transportation would be provided to take students for two half-day shifts per week to a NESMA company as part of an overall program that would amount to 200 hours earned towards a springmaker apprenticeship. Please note that as a magnet school, Connecticut River Academy students are drawn from throughout the state, and could be from a location nearby to you. Here’s the link describing this pathway: https://www.ctriveracademy.org/about/pathways/manufacturing-and-engineering

We also heard from Ray Byron at EdAdvance Adult & Continuing Education who had their regional Career Day that day and offer many interesting programs acting as an educator as well as an employer partner: https://adulted.edadvance.org/

Workforce Strategies

Alyssa Adler and Leah Fuhs reminded us that the AMEP Bi-Annual Meeting will be held on November 5^th at CT State Manchester. AMEP is an Employer Partnership and a great way to begin to network with others in the regional workforce development space: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/amep-biannual-meeting-tickets-2002529781483.

Leah also explained that grants have been received to fund incumbent workers up to a $7500 per employee cap through the Industry Driven Skills Training Fund, and Joe Turacek from Capital Workforce Partners, that will administer the funds, will make a presentation on this at the Bi-Annual Meeting. https://portal.ct.gov/dol/divisions/workforce-innovation-and-opportunity-act-wioa-administration-unit/industry-driven-skills-training-fund-grant?language=en_US .

Other presentations at the Bi-Annual Meeting will include subjects such as apprenticeship and clean energy initiatives in the region.

Nicole Lynn from CONNSTEP invites all members to view their Manufacturers Skills Hub to learn of the many programs CONNSTEP offers including for supervisors, quality, and AI consultation: https://learn.connstep.org/#/public-dashboard

Sarah Lupa from BristolWorks! Mentioned that they have engaged with MakerspaceCT for more exposure to manufacturing.

And finally, Daid Weinholtz from Makerspace CT reports a very successful Gala (September 26^th), and thanked NESMA for their sponsorship as their fundraising goal was exceeded. Ongoing MakerspaceCT programs include the following:

• Fall classes are underway: MAKEnABLE and MAKEnABLE Plus are engaging high school students in additive manufacturing and assistive-device design, while the Engineering Fundamentals Course is building CAD, 3D printing, electronics, and career-readiness skills for young adults. BOTS at MLK is also introducing middle school students to robot design, fabrication, wiring, and programming.
• Bloomfield Commercial Construction Dive: The Town has approved the program, with an early November start targeted. Ten to fourteen high school students will receive 60 hours of training in steel-stud construction, sheathing, basic electrical and plumbing, and OSHA 10 certification.
• Forge & Fabric Industries production launch: A canvas tote-bag production line is expected to launch in our shop within the next two weeks. The project will combine commercial textile manufacturing with hands-on training in production workflow, inventory, and quality control.
• United Way R2 manufacturing pathway: MakerspaceCT received a three-year United Way R2 Community Reinvestment grant to expand our Workforce Manufacturing Pathways Program for Hartford and East Hartford residents. Building on the success of two Engineering Fundamentals Course graduates hired into TRUMPF’s apprenticeship program, we plan to use that partnership as a model for developing similar pre-apprenticeship and hiring pipelines with TRUMPF and other manufacturers.

The next Technical Development Committee meeting will be Wednesday, November 11^th (2-3 PM). We hope you can join in our continuing discussions.

Upcoming Calendar of Upcoming Events

10/28/2026	Wednesday	Future Leaders of Manufacturing (FLM) Networking Event	NESMA
10/29/2026	Thursday	ACM Aerospace Alley	Aerospace Components Manufacturers
11/3/2026	Tuesday	CSDE funded, Industry 4.0 Fellowship for HS CTE and STEM Educators	CCAT
11/5/2026	Thursday	Manufacturing Celebration of Innovation (CT Science Center)	CONNSTEP
11/5/2026	Thursday	AMEP Biannual Meeting	AMEP / CT State – Manchester
11/17/2026	Tuesday	Goodwin University Fall Career Fair for Advanced Manufacturing	AMEP Goodwin
11/18/2026	Wednesday	CT State NVCC Internship Fair	CT State Naugatuck Valley
11/20/2026	Friday	Rocky Hill High School 2026 Career Expo	Rocky Hill High School
12/2/2026	Wednesday	NESMA Holiday Party	NESMA
12/3/2026	Thursday	NESMA Annual Meeting	NESMA