This article originally appeared in the July 2023 issue of THE SHOP magazine.
There’s no doubt the industry desperately needs tradespeople of all stripes—everyone from CNC machinists to welders. We skipped a whole generation as we sent everybody off to college and university to get a degree, and that decision is now coming back to haunt us.
Not that there’s anything wrong with getting a degree—there absolutely isn’t—but we still need competent people to make and mend things.
Obviously, there are trade schools all over the U.S., but prior to the pandemic there were a number of so-called “makerspaces” that were very effective incubators for budding engineers and entrepreneurs.
Makerspaces, of which the now defunct TechShop was perhaps the poster child with a much publicized visit from former President Barak Obama, are membership-based, DIY workshops and…
