An Origin Story
Welcome to the MI’s First Edition of Metal in Motion —your inside look at how MI is shaping the future of manufacturing. Here, we’ll spotlight employer success stories, student breakthroughs, and the innovations driving workforce development forward.
New training, candidate pools, mentorship programs, and services abound. You’re invited to grow with us. Hang on, it’s going to be a ride! Let’s build industry 4.0 together in a way where crafts people are celebrated, careers are debt-free, and every learner has a path to prosperity.
Built by Workers, Backed by Industry
In the heart of the Pacific Northwest, where aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and logistics pulse through the air, a quiet crisis was unfolding. Employers couldn’t find skilled workers. Training pipelines were fragmented. And too many job seekers were stuck on the sidelines without access to the tools, mentorship, and pathways that lead to family-sustaining careers.
The Machinists Institute (MI) a 501(3)c was born out of this need—not as a school, but as the solution.
IAM 751 recognized a critical shortage of skilled workers and took action. In a powerful act of solidarity, members voted to invest in education so that opportunities for workers, communities, and companies could thrive. Through their initial investment, MI was founded as a nonprofit workforce partner that exists to do one thing: prepare the next generation of machinists, fabricators, mechanics, and metal-trade professionals. Not with theory alone, but with hands-on training, mentorship, and real-world experience that mirrors the pace, precision, and innovative equipment on the shop floor.
A Different Kind of Beginning
We didn’t start with a campus. We started with a question:
What would it look like if training actually worked for employers?
So we listened. To journey workers who wanted to mentor but didn’t know how. To HR teams overwhelmed by compliance and onboarding. To production managers who needed cross-trained teams that could flex with demand. And to students, many of them working adults, who needed training that fit their lives, not the other way around.
What emerged was a model that blends rigor with relevance:
Registered Apprenticeships that align with your machines, your processes, and your standards and are recognized by DOL across the country
Pre-employment training giving access to a higher skilled talent pool.
Career pathways that retain talent and build leadership from within.
Mentorship training that transforms your best workers into confident trainers and creates sustainability through multigenerational wisdom.
More Than Skills—A System
We don’t just teach machining or fabricating. We teach how to build and sustain a workforce. One that honors craftsmanship, meets employer needs, and uplifts communities.
Our graduates are ready to contribute from day one. And our partners, union and employer alike, know they’re investing in a system that works.
Today, MI supports employers across the Pacific Northwest and West Coast while expanding nationally with innovative solutions. We operate two 40’ mobile labs, hybrid classrooms, and 5 cutting edge training facilities in Tukwila, Everett, Spokane, Vancouver, and Fremont
We’re proud to be part of a movement that’s redefining what it means to learn a trade.
This newsletter is our way of staying connected. Each month, we’ll share stories from the field, spotlight employer partnerships, and offer insights on workforce trends that matter to you.
~ Shana Peschek Executive Director
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Smart Industry Featured Our Article
FROM BRIDGEPORTS TO COBOTS:
The modern worker
Still running Bridgeports while your competitors run lights-out?
The skills gap isn’t just a hiring problem—it’s a throughput bottleneck. This article explores how integrated training in manual machining, CNC, and cobot operation builds a cross-functional crew that can program, tend, and QC in one shift. Learn how shops are leveraging cobots for sub-12-month ROI and reclaiming spindle hours with smarter talent pipelines.
→ Read how cobot-ready machinists are reshaping job shop economics.
We are committed to contribute to industry in ways that have no boundaries and supporting the adoption and growth of the apprenticeship model while reimagining education across the sector is something we are experts at and will share best practices in all formats even if we’re not the focal point.
Doing the right thing for the right reason to advance opportunities in our industries is the focal point.
INDUSTRY MIXER WAS A HUGE SUCCESS
What a Day!
On October 3rd, Machinists Institute welcomed guests across all four WA locations—Spokane, Tukwila, Everett, and Vancouver—for a celebration of innovation, connection, and hands-on training.
From coffee and cookies to guided tours and swag bags, the energy was electric. Employers, educators, and community partners came together to explore MI’s cutting-edge training spaces, share ideas, and build new partnerships.
Manufacturing Mixer @ All MI Locations
Professional Development
MI IS GROWING AND INNOVATING
Pictured is an all staff training in Seattle, WA centered around AI and the exciting ways it will support the expansion of impact across our functions.
We’re growing fast—and if transforming the future of manufacturing talent sounds like a ride you’d like to hop on, then click the link below and see if one of our positions looks like it could be well suited with your skills and the direction you’d like to grow.
Job categories include: Administrative, Instructional, Finance, Partnerships, and more!
In case you missed it
OUR MOST POPULAR POSTS
RE-CALIBRATE YOUR MIND AROUND APPRENTICESHIP
The secrets behind a neutral palette that feels anything but cold.
NEW WELDING PROGRAM
Sparks are flying and students are landing jobs before they even complete the pre-apprenticeship!
THE UNSUNG HEROS
Have you ever thought about the machinists, fabricators, and other metal trades people it takes to bring you your morning brew?
UNITING OEMs
TOP PERFORMING POST
MI’s Blake Horton and Adam Grim flew to meet with top leaders in the industry to discuss how we can link arms to create better opportunities across the nation.
Industry-Forward
WITHOUT MANUFACTURING, TECH DOESN’T EVEN TURN ON
Manufacturing is the backbone of innovation, trade, and community prosperity
Everyone talks about tech jobs. But without MANUFACTURING, tech doesn’t even turn on.
It's more than assembly lines—it’s the foundation of innovation, trade, and community prosperity.
New Employer Service - See if you’re eligible
CROSS POST EMPLOYER JOBS
You asked. We listened.
Hiring new talent continues to be a challenge for many of our employer partners—especially when time and resources are tight. To help, MI is now offering to cross-post your job listings directly on our site, expanding your reach to our growing network of learners and graduates.
And there’s more coming: soon, we’ll be launching a matching tool to help connect you with MI-trained candidates whose skills align with your needs.
Let us help you build your next great hire and keep them.
Communities Growing Together
OUR FEATURED PARTNERS
We’re honored to collaborate with community-based organizations that are making a real impact. Your work inspires us—and we’re proud to support it.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “How can we work together?”—we’d love to hear from you. Fill our our short interest form HERE so we can connect.
Let’s build something meaningful, together.
Recent MI Graduates
PARTNERS IN EMPLOYMENT (PIE)
Specializing in support for immigrant and refugee communities, our partnership with PIE has led to multiple successful cohorts.
The most recent was designed as a pre-employment pathway into Boeing and 100% of graduates received and accepted jobs at Boeing.
That’s workforce development in action.
Recent MI Graduates
LATINO COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION (LCA)
LCA brought MI an outstanding first cohort for our welding pre-apprenticeship—and the results speak for themselves.
One graduate was hired by Genie before the course even wrapped,
a testament to the caliber of learners and the demand for skilled talent.
We’re proud to help build pathways that lead directly to opportunity.
Recent MI Graduates
PUYALLUP INDIAN TRIBE
Our partnership with the Puyallup Tribe’s TERO department has powered 2 successful cohorts delivered directly through MI’s 40-foot mobile training lab.
Together, we’re bringing hands-on skills to where they’re needed most.
Feature Story
BREAKING GROUND
Breaking Ground for a Stronger Future
We officially broke ground on the Little Wings Early Learning Academy — a child care facility designed to meet the real needs of working families. This innovative center will be built by union construction, utilizing apprentices to provide nontraditional, flexible child care hours to to support entry into family sustaining careers like aerospace, manufacturing construction and healthcare with representation for the future teachers, better pay and benefits, and an apprenticeship pathways for the teachers.
We’re always looking for skilled professionals ready to share their expertise. If you’ve worked in the trades and are curious about teaching, MI offers in-house training to help you transition confidently into an instructor role.
With facilities in Spokane, Tukwila, Everett, and Vancouver WA, we’re hiring across multiple categories—including Instructional, Administrative, Finance, Partnerships, and more.
Student Testimonial
“I THINK THE WORLD OF THE INSTITUTION”
“I think the world of the institution you represent and believe of the Instructors and staff that I have had the chance to meet to be incredibly talented, gifted and knowledgeable leaders in their respective trades. I have completed Welding Safety, Principals of Welding FCAW, GMAW, and Steel TIG Certification with Instructor Mike Wilson and am currently in Machining Classes Lead by Instructor Keith Dalhaus. And with both instructors I can speak on their unwavering professionalism and honest care in sharing their knowledge.”
Until next time,
Built by Workers, Backed by Industry.