Canadian Tooling and Machining Association (CTMA)
Their Annual Apprenticeship Competition highlights skills learned by the industry's apprentices and challenges them to demonstrate those skills. This event is open to all apprentices currently registered in a provincially recognized tooling trade (moldmaker, tool and diemaker, patternmaker, general machinist, etc.). The competition will include a common test piece for all trades and prizes will be awarded to the top three entries in the Junior category (apprentices with less than 4,000 hours in their respective trade) and the Senior category (apprentices with 4,000 to 8,000 hours in their respective trade). Prize levels will be subject to the level of sponsorship received.

Center for Manufacturing Excellence (CME)
The CME is a partnership with industry, education, the Galesburg Business and Technology Center, local economic development interests, and government. The CME is located on the campus of Carl Sandburg College (CSC) in Galesburg, Illinois. Members of the local manufacturing market asked the college to beef up its manufacturing program and provide them with the skilled workers. And so became the CME. While this site is under construction (heck, what ain't?), there's plenty available for potential students or those looking to model there own program(s) similar to this one.

Changing The Perception About Our Field (Revisited)
This January '01 CNC Tech Talk column from the pages of MMS (and written by Mike Lynch) is a follow-up to a similarly-named, very influential column (listed on this page) from January '99.

Chicago Women In Trades
While not EXACTLY an education link, this sure comes close enough in our book. Chicago Women In Trades (CWIT) is an advocacy group that works in myriad ways to promote and advance women in manufacturing trades. If you're in the Chicagoland area, this group may offer you employment options for your business. If you're not from around there, ask yourself, "Does our area have something like this and, if not, why not?"

CNC Concepts
This site is a tremendous repository of CNC information. Maintained by Mike Lynch, monthly contributor to MODERN MACHINE SHOP and general, all-around CNC guru. This site has an OUTSTANDING links page to CNC-related tools on the Web. But wait ... there's MORE! Mr. Lynch and company have also reorganized their Web site recently. Don't let the simple (re: effective) layout fool you; there's plenty of CNC stuff here. There are CNC Tips and Hints, an area for reviewing and ordering software, a CNC Jobs area (for both people and companies looking for that perfect match), and an exhaustive CNC Schools section (listing specific courses and lab equipment, no less). If you're into CNC, this will rock your world.

Update: The most rockin' Mr. Lynch has launched an Internet-based CNC training program that expands the horizons of CNC Concepts into overdrive. Current topics available include "Advanced Techniques With Basic CNC Features," "Parametric Programming For CNC," and more. Prices range from $199 to $399, with time requirements up to 12 hours.

Council for Education in Metalworking Technologies
CEMT was founded as another business/education partnership to increase awareness for the benefits of metalworking careers. Founded in and for Lorain County, Ohio, this group is grass-roots, and is another excellent example of initiative and cooperation.

Focus: HOPE
To try to describe Focus:HOPE in one paragraph would be an insult to a wonderfully intricate and original organization. Part of what Focus:HOPE does is provide a top-shelf manufacturing and metalworking education to some that may have not had the opportunity otherwise. And they produce some outstanding machinists and manufacturing professionals. As an educator, machinist, manufacturing manager--or just a person--you owe it to yourself to check this out. If you are not inspired by this, you have to get out more often.

High-Speed Machining: Machinist Online
This Web site/utility/repository from the University of Florida's Engineering Department is one slick, awsome work in progress. If you're looking into HSM or machining in general, you must include this site in your research. Either the Flash or HTML versions contain copious amounts of data. The FAQ is excellent; for an awsome collection of HSM information, select the Tutorials link at the bottom of either home page. This is a fine work in progress.

How Do You Change The Perception Of Our Field?
This January '99 CNC Tech Talk column from the pages of MMS (and written by Mike Lynch) pretty much sums up the current state of the "machinist's dilemma," and what we can do about it.

Hudson Valley Apprentice Association
This association, founded in 1994, is a blend of business and secondary schools throughout New York and Vermont, dedicated to the replenishment of the metalworking and machine tool work force.

Learning Technical Drawings
OK, so you’re not likely to be an artist. Realistically, there are plenty of software programs out there that help us to create engineering or mechanical drawings, so why worry about doing it by hand or manually? Well, this site can be used to help teach “newbies” how to READ drawings, too. And that’s pretty valuable, when you stop to think about it. This site contains several pages that contextualize technical drawings in many ways (convenient, since your business likely receives drawings in—ahem—various stages of sophistication. Not a bad resource, if used creatively.

Manufacturing Is Cool!
Sponsored and run by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), this site is the bomb when it comes to manufacturing education. It offers links to schools offering manufacturing-related programs, services for manufacturing students (scholarships, tours of facilities, expert speakers for classrooms), and much more. The site also offers sections that offer Parents, Teachers, Students, Volunteers, and Guidance Counselors resources and reasons that support a manufacturing education commitment.

Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC)
The MSSC has developed a national skill standards system for manufacturing, that's designed to give manufacturers a yardstick to measure, improve and profit from a workforce trained in cutting-edge manufacturing skills. The council is a "who's who" list of business leaders, labor unions, trade associations, professional societies, education- and community-based organizations, civil rights groups, and government. This is one noble model, folks.

The MSSC Web site does more to educate the visitor about the organization and their goals than it does to provide specific data that defines the standards themselves. But this is a fine introduction to this group, and an excellent way to start a conversation with them. Thumbs-up, we say.

Math Resources
This page is a collection of links across the Web to mathematics, formulas, tutorials and directories that can be useful to the machining professional or student. Included in this MASSIVE assortment of sites are calculators, formulaic tables and charts, and just about every sort of math-related topic imaginable. Of course, as with any collection like this, you’ll have to sort through those less machining-related to find the really useful stuff—but there are numerous links to those you can use, and this is a fine page to bookmark.

National Institute for Metalworking Skills
NIMS is a non profit organization formed in 1995 to support the development of a skilled workforce for the metalworking industry. NIMS support is accomplished through four activities: Developing, writing, validating, and maintaining Skill Standards; Credentialing the skills of individuals against the skill standards; Certifying training programs that meet or exceed NIMS quality requirements, and; Assisting states, schools, and companies to form Partnerships. For an article describing the skills deficiency in metalworking from many perspectives, click here.

Project Lead The Way
Now this is a fantastic idea. PLTW is an organization committed to preparing both students and schools for educations in manufacturing and engineering. There simply isn't enough space here to describe the goals and aspirations of PLTW. If you're at all interested in the replentishment of our industries with quality people, please visit this site and learn more about them and how you can help.

The American Society for Engineering Education
The ASEE is focused on "promoting and improving engineering and engineering technology education." Its site offers a surprisingly robust collection of career and education info for current or aspiring engineers, including links, events, and resident content in the ASEE site.

The Virtual Machine Shop (VMS)
The VMS is back after a brief hiatus to redesign their site and content. Designed, created and maintained by a consortium of business and academic entities (primarily Cerritos College in California), this site is a treasure trove of machine tool data that is part library, part training manual and part community (that community part takes some time, so give ‘em a break). But after all is said and done, it’s the Library link that you’ll want to visit. It is broken up into 8 “lessons,” including Milling Machines, Lathes, Other Machines, Cutting Tools, CNC & CAM, Measurement, Engineering, and an excellent machining glossary. And man-o-man, these lessons are ample, with text, graphics, videos (LOTS of videos) and animated graphics (most are in Shockwave format). A Web site is never judged by how it starts, but by how it is grown and maintained. If this site grows anywhere near as well as it launched, we’re in for a great ride. Gentlemen, start your mouses!

Tooling University
Now THIS is what we're talkin' about! "Tooling U" uses the university metaphor to administrate, deliver and develop its metalworking- and machining-rich curricula to individuals, groups or corporations. "TU" has launched with courses in Workholding, Metal Cutting and CNC. Their plan is to roll out many more metalworking-specific "departments" to serve our industry. Their Web site serves a model of great depth and complexity; it is as ambitious as is training in the machining arts itself. But TU has done a wonderful job of coordinating and complementing a rich environment with a worthy online interface.

Update: Well, as promised, TU has expanded their departments to include Materials, Shop Essentials, and Metal Forming. And they've grown their existing departments to include deeper, richer coverage. They've added a technical library and more technical content than you can shake a mouse at.

Online metalworking training on steroids.

University of Florida, Machine Tool Research Center (MTRC)
How 'bout dem GATORS!?!? This Web site represents the MTRC, which is a subset of the Mechanical Engineering Department at UF. Here you'll find who they are, what they use (equipment, machines, etc.), and where they use it. BTW, these guys are DEEEEEEEP into high speed machining.

V-Workshops
V-Workshops is a provider and facilitator of online workshops, seminars and training, using the Internet to connect audiences with presenters. They develop and conduct these "e-vents" in open environments (anyone's welcome, as long as you pay) and for private events (closed to the public). V-Workshops' model will also accomodate sustained programs or individual events. Currently, their "cyminars" deal with more general topics for manufacturers or machining professionals (maintenance, management of ancillary or auxiliary systems, etc.) and less specifics. But this is a model to keep up with. They are bound to launch more vertical applications (like for metalworking?) soon enough.

Vocational Industrial Clubs of America
VICA offers a website full of data to assist you in finding, or supporting, entry-level metalworking students and co-ops.

Western Washington University
The Engineering Technology Department at WWU has an outstanding program dedicated to molding well-rounded, effective manufacturers.