Symbol Job Training is part of this year’s IMTS Student Skills Center. Lead by executive director Diana Peters, the for-profit CNC training institute started out in the ‘80s as a tool and die operation. But in 2006, it reinvented itself as a training provider, turning its CNC production equipment into instruments for hands-on training. At that time, Symbol’s management saw the need to start a school due to the lack of skilled labor and formalized vocational school training to support the needs of U.S. manufacturers.
Diana says Symbol’s success comes from the small class sizes (no more than 3 to 6 students per instructor) and the fact that its instructors are industry professionals who can share real-world experience with the students. The company recently moved to a new facility in Skokie, Illinois, and is looking to triple its enrollment in the next couple of years while maintaining intimate class sizes. Learn more about Symbol in this Crain’s Retooling Chicago video, and be sure to check out the Student Skills Center at IMTS.
Student-run businesses focused on technical training for the trades are taking root across the U.S. Can we — should we — leverage their regional successes into a nationwide platform?
