How Sarah Jordan and Skuld are Reshaping Manufacturing and the Modern Workforce

Manufacturing has always been about making things. For Sarah Jordan, CEO and co-founder of Skuld LLC, the allure of the foundry began early. Growing up with a father who worked as a ceramics engineer, Jordan thought she’d be following directly in his footsteps. Instead, working in steel mills and foundries sparked a deep appreciation for metallurgy.

SkuldLLC Co-Founder and CEO Sarah Jordan.

“I always liked making things, and one of the fun things about being in a foundry is you get to make something tangible,” she said.

The Founder

With an extensive background that includes degrees in Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science from The Ohio State University, an MBA from Carnegie Mellon, and ongoing PhD research at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Jordan is steering her company toward an ambitious future. Skuld is actively merging the proven reliability of lost-foam investment casting with the cutting-edge flexibility of polymer 3D printing.

Traditional lost foam casting has long been reserved for extremely high-volume production. The sheer cost of traditional tooling can range from $150,000 to a couple of million dollars per part number. Jordan and her team saw 3D printing as a way to rethink the equation entirely.

“If you don’t need tooling, that seems like a better way to make small-volume things,” Jordan explained regarding the thought behind their innovation. Jordan notes that their technology is significantly faster than traditional investment casting, more accurate than sand casting, and much cheaper than relying solely on 3D printing. “It also allows you to have geometries that might not otherwise be feasible,” she added.

At the recent Joint Advanced Manufacturing Symposium at Fort Campbell, Skuld LLC put on a demo as part of the METAL Investment Casting Bootcamp. They arrived with a pre-printed cluster and gating system, walking trainees through the compaction process hands-on. By the end of the demonstration, they had melted aluminum right in the training bay and poured small army soldier statues.

Aluminum figure cast during the Skuld LLC demo at JAMS

Casting the Workforce

Technological innovation is only half the battle in modern manufacturing. The other half is ensuring a trained workforce is ready for the future. METAL, led by IACMI – The Composites Institute®, and funded by the Department of War’s Office of Industrial Base Policy, was built to revitalize American manufacturing through hands-on training in casting and forging. 

Like many organizations in the manufacturing sector, Skuld LLC is facing significant workforce development hurdles. The company is growing rapidly and is on track to double in size this year alone. This kind of explosive growth highlights a critical gap in the industry METAL aims to fill: a distinct lack of experience on the floor.

“A lot of apprentice programs assume you have experienced mentors available, but if your most experienced people only have two years of experience, no one is really equipped to train,” Jordan says.Through K-12 workshops and university bootcamps, METAL introduces students and career seekers to modern metalcasting and forging careers. Participants can complete METAL’s free online training before attending immersive, in-person bootcamps led by professional metallurgists and manufacturing experts across the country, allowing them to pass on their expertise to the next generation.

A bootcamp participant pours molten metal by hand.

Jaidyn from Skuld LLC pouring metal as part of the Ohio State bootcamp.

For Jordan, engaging with initiatives like METAL is a vital part of the solution. ‘Programs like this are great, especially for people who don’t do the hands-on pouring every day, like lab technicians, to get a better understanding of the technical side,” she said.

Following Rosie’s Footsteps

Overcoming the foundry industry’s historical workforce demographics requires highly creative communication strategies. The foundry space is notoriously male-dominated, but Skuld LLC has proven that a simple shift in language can open the floodgates to new talent. When the company advertised an open assembly position, Jordan decided to change the job title to see what would happen.

“I advertised an assembly job as a ‘Crafter,'” she recalled. “In two days, I got 80 applicants, and ninety percent were women, which is shocking for a foundry job. Sometimes it’s just about the words you use,”she stated.

Jordan continues to push boundaries in the industry. When asked where she saw Skuld LLC in five years, she stated, “We think we will have several facilities. Right now we’re developing capabilities around heat-treating fixtures. We’ve developed the ability to cast steel in lost foam, so we’re looking at parts that are painful to machine.” Skuld LLC is the fourth company Jordan has founded, plus starting a chapter of Women in 3D Printing.

“Just always keep on learning,” Jordan advises young folks. “The jobs you might end up in might not even exist yet, so you have to be open to new experiences.”

METAL on Base: Event Brings Hands-on Training to Service Members

Directives from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and the Secretary of the Army have emphasized the importance of expanding the defense industrial base and integrating advanced manufacturing. Failing to produce necessary components at home poses a severe risk to national defense. The Joint Advanced Manufacturing Symposium (JAMS) was held at Fort Campbell, Kentucky in early August to address these concerns. The event brought together military and civilian leaders, experts, and industry partners to address critical needs around advanced manufacturing and defense.

IACMI CTO Dr. Uday Vaidya provided an overview of IACMI’s work with composites in the defense sphere.

JAMS aimed to bridge the gap between component developers and the warfighters who use them. The symposium covered topics including accelerating innovation, enabling on-demand part production, improving operational readiness, and decreasing reliance on vulnerable, traditional supply chains.

The event featured a robust schedule of panel discussions, strategic briefings, and intensive, hands-on training workshops. Leaders from the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) spoke about the organization and its workforce programs, including the Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeships and Learning (METAL) program.

METAL, led by IACMI – The Composites Institute®, and funded by the Department War’s Office of Industrial Base Policy, was created to revitalize American manufacturing through hands-on training in metalcasting and forging. Members of the 101st Airborne Battalion were able to participate in a METAL Bootcamp as part of the symposium.

Through K-12 workshops and university-led bootcamps METAL introduces students and career seekers to modern metalcasting and forging careers. Participants complete a free online training course before attending immersive, in-person bootcamps led by professional metallurgists and manufacturing experts.

How IACMI is Supporting the American Warfighter

On Wednesday, August 5th, the symposium focused on advanced manufacturing training in the age of Industry 4.0. Dr. Uday Vaidya, Chief Technical Officer at IACMI, and Andrew Pokelwaldt, Director of Education and Workforce Programs, spoke about the institute and its programs.

Andrew Pokelwaldt speaks with a soldier while observing the JAMS training session.

Vaidya provided an overview of the organization, originally funded by the Department of Energy, and its work on both civilian and defense projects. He spotlighted technology used to craft braided beams for construction, composite battlefield tourniquets, training rounds used for tanks, and new helmet tech. In his role at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Vaidya also oversaw the METAL Bootcamp being offered to service members as part of JAMS.

During his presentation, Pokelwaldt, a Marine Corps veteran, underscored a stark reality facing the domestic manufacturing base and the military alike: “Ninety percent of durable manufacturing goods and critical manufacturing equipment is supported by these roles, and most of the time if anything is critical or involves precision, it’s going to take skilled engineers, skilled technicians, and skilled workers that can operate the equipment.”

He went on to note that even the most advanced equipment is rendered useless without a properly trained workforce. “A lot of the time it’s not the equipment, it’s the users. So if those people aren’t trained to deal with the advanced manufacturing equipment, that’s going to be a challenge, he said.”

Forging the New Workforce

Pokelwaldt detailed the success of the IACMI’s workforce programs:

America’s Cutting Edge (ACE) has impacted thousands over its five-year history. Combining free online courses with week-long, in-person bootcamps, ACE focuses on machining, composites, metrology, and advanced manufacturing. The goal is to get “people’s hands on that equipment,” said Pokelwaldt.

Pokelwaldt also highlighted the importance of the METAL program. “Casting and forging has been identified as an area that the United States does not have much capability compared to what it used to,” he explained. METAL is designed to bring domestic manufacturing back and increase existing capabilities in these vital areas. METAL is rapidly expanding nationwide to meet critical demand.

The presentation also addressed the long-term strategy for sustaining the manufacturing workforce. Pokelwaldt emphasized IACMI’s outreach efforts, recognizing that the “manufaturers of the future need early exposure to STEM concepts and basic manufacturing principles. “We start at a young age to give people basic manufacturing principles… and build all the way through,” he stated.

A surprising trend Pokelwaldt noted was that many intelligent and capable young adults entering these programs have never used basic hand tools. This lack of foundational experience makes hands-on training even more vital. “If they can’t even do that, they’ll struggle,” he said, referring to the basic mechanical adjustments often required on machinery.

By partnering with educational institutions and industry, IACMI is working to fill this pipeline, providing internships and apprenticeships that offer real-world experience. METAL’s upcoming K-12 mobile units are designed to generate interest in manufacturing early and give young people the hands-on experience many are missing.

A group of soldiers prepares sand molds during a training source.

Active duty service members participated in a METAL Bootcamp from the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

The METAL Investment Casting Bootcamp

The strategic discussions at JAMS were paired with practical application. During the symposium, service members from the 101st Airborne and visiting Marines participated in intensive workshops at the HAMMER (Hub for Advanced Manufacturing, Metalworking, Engineering, and Repair) Training Site.

Among the offerings was a METAL Bootcamp led by Amy Wheelock and Thomas Drye from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The course provided trainees with a comprehensive understanding of how to move a custom design from concept to a finished metal piece.

The workshop curriculum was rigorous and highly practical:

A service member pours molten tin into a sand mold.

Bootcamp participants made designs using CAD, made sand molds, and poured molten metal.

Day 1: An introduction to the METAL program and investment casting, followed by CAD instruction and pattern modeling.

Day 2: A deep dive into 3D printing and injection molding. Trainees learned slicing techniques, observed injection molding demonstrations, and prepared their 3D printed patterns.

Day 3: Focus shifted to sand casting and simulation, including spruce patterns, the burnout process, and a demonstration of Skuld Additive Manufacturing Evaporative Casting (AMEC).

Day 4: The core activity, melting metal and performing the investment casting process, followed by retrieving and finishing the cast components.

Day 5: An essential introduction to Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), where trainees performed ultrasound and dye penetrant testing on their finished parts to ensure quality and structural integrity.

The Future of Manufacturing at the Tactical Edge

JAMS highlighted the urgent need for agile, advanced manufacturing capabilities within the defense industrial base and on the battlefield. Programs like METAL are vital to ensuring that the nation’s warfighters and thenation’sindustrial base are prepared for the challenges of the future.

If you are interested in attending a METAL Bootcamp or want to learn more about a career in the foundry and forging industry, visit the METAL website today.

Highlights from AFS Industry 4.0 2026

“Companies need to know their destination before choosing their tech. If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there,” said Jim Wetzel, co-founder of NxGen, quoting Alice in Wonderland.

Wetzel has been a leader in manufacturing for decades, and was a keynote speaker at the most recent AFS Industry 4.0 conference.

This strategic communication principle is the bedrock of successful Industry 4.0 adoption. Companies can’t simply plug in a new system and expect optimization without a clear blueprint of their desired business outcomes.

Wetzel cited a report from MIT that 95% of generative AI pilots at companies are failing.

The leading reason for these failures?

Lack of alignment to business outcomes.

“Know the value first,” Wetzel said, reiterating that understanding the business’ needs before making big spends on technology was key to successful implementation.

The 2026 American Foundry Society (AFS) Foundry Industry 4.0 Conference was held in Minneapolis on July 28-30. The METAL team was there to see firsthand the future of the foundry floor.

From AI integration to advanced robotics, the future of foundries is both high-tech and dependent on a skilled workforce.

METAL, led by IACMI – The Composites Institute®, and funded by the Department of War’s Office of Industrial Base Policy, was created to revitalize American manufacturing through hands-on training in metalcasting and forging. Finding workers was a recurring point of discussion amongst attendees and during the tour of the 3M CAM facility in Saint Paul, MN.

Through K-12 workshops and university bootcamps, METAL introduces students and career seekers to modern metalcasting and forging careers. Participants can complete METAL’s free online training course before attending immersive, in-person bootcamps led by professional metallurgists and manufacturing experts.

1. The Stakes Are Higher Than Ever

Todd Hutcheson, Director of Advance Iowa and the Center for Business Growth and Innovation at the University of Northern Iowa, provided a sobering look at the industrial landscape.

American metalcasting is at a crossroads.

Ninety percent of all manufactured goods contain castings, yet the number of U.S. casting plants has declined by 72 percent since 1991.

The path forward? Embracing technologies that bring smart manufacturing back to the U.S. while improving resiliency.

“Value comes from change when it enables new or improved capability and from stability when it preserves or better controls existing capability,” Hutcheson said. “Industry 4.0 implementation accomplishes both.”

Despite the decrease in facilities, Hutcherson noted the importance of casting and foundries to the economy. The industry supports nearly 800,000 jobs across the supply chain and is valued at over $50 billion.

Hutcheson also touched on how University of Northern Iowa (UNI), a METAL partner university, is tackling industry challenges. The school’s Metal Casting Center, Foundry 4.0 Center, and Center for Business Growth and Innovation work together to “engage students and staff in research and education.” UNI will soon begin offering METAL Bootcamps as part of this mission.

2. The (AI) Elephant in the Room

Artificial intelligence was a hot topic among speakers and exhibitors. Mike Lakas, Senior VP for IT at the American Foundry Society touched on everything from Large Language Models (LLMs) and transformers to the influx of Chat GPT-generated content. The core takeaway was separating practical utility from marketing buzz. The highlight of Lakas’ presentation was a comparison of outputs asking generative AI to produce an image. The difference between the initial image generated years ago and the video made this year was staggering and demonstrated a point he had made earlier: “We tend to overestimate progress in the short-term and underestimate it in the long run.”

Conor Keenan of Sinto America, who played a role in developing the new SMART Foundry at Purdue University, detailed how intelligent data tools are already making an impact. He explained that these tools are more than data collectors; they use advanced pattern recognition to drive real-time decision-making.

“When you get your data is just as important as getting the data itself,” he stated.

3. Who Let the Dogs Out?

A Humanoid robot wears a METAL ball cap.

SIR Robotics, an Italian company with offices in California, showed off their robot Luciano.

Attendees were treated to case studies showing how digital tools are already yielding massive ROI on the floor:

Spot the Robot Dog: Jacob Moreau showcased how a Boston Dynamics robot is performing over 120 autonomous inspections for a Toyota NA camshaft supplier.

“The bot paid for itself in ROI within 10 months,” he said.

Spot uses thermal imaging, LiDAR, and acoustic leak detection to monitor equipment across the 200,000 sq ft facility.

Precision Pouring: Operations Data Analytics Engineer Ellyn Neubauer described how optimizing furnace controls using pyrometer data has impacted Mercury Marine, which manages an incredible 1.6 million pounds of poured steel per year. The use of the two-color pyrometer system has enabled continuous indirect temperature feedback, leading to more controlled furnace melts.

4. At the Forefront of Cyber Security Compliance

The conversations around smart energy and cybersecurity are urgent. ECK Industries recently became the first foundry and one of the first 50 companies to achieve CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) Level 2. This framework requires defense contractors to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and applies to any company handling CUI in the DoW supply chain. This information can include drawings, specs and technical data, etc.

Aaron Hayon, Director of Technology and Security at Eck Industries, and Jeremy Mares, who manages federal accounts at Redspin, provided an overview of the CMMC guidelines and Eck’s journey to certification.

“Trying to be the first to do something within an industry is always challenging. It seems that every day we learn something new about how requirements should be interpreted, how the CMMC program continues to evolve, and how available tools can be leveraged more effectively,” noted Hayon of the process.

The Takeaway

A tour group looks on as a tour guide speaks in a manufacturing lab

AFS Attendees were able to tour the 3M CAM Lab in Saint Paul, MN.

For us at METAL, the AFS Foundry Industry 4.0 Conference is a clear signal that our mission has never been more vital.

The technological advancements showcased in Minneapolis, from autonomous robotic inspections to AI-driven process optimization, offer a definitive path forward for reversing the decline of U.S. casting and forging facilities.

However, this digital transformation cannot succeed without a workforce capable of executing it. By continuing to offer expert-designed online and hands-on training, as well as stackable credentials, METAL is actively equipping the next generation of metalcasting pros with the digital know-how and problem-solving skills required to bring the Industry 4.0 vision to life on the foundry floor.

Forging the Future: How UTK’s Amy Wheelock is helping guide future metalcasters

The revitalization of American manufacturing relies heavily on bridging the gap between traditional metal trades and cutting-edge engineering.

At the forefront of this movement is a concerted effort to build a highly skilled, tech-savvy industrial workforce.

One of the chief guides of this effort at the University of Tennessee Knoxville is research coordinator and METAL workshop and bootcamp instructor Amy Wheelock. After pausing her engineering career to care for her family, she has become one of UTK METAL’s top trainers and a key part of the university’s efforts to train the next generation.

METAL, led by IACMI – The Composites Institute®, and funded by the Department of War’s Office of Industrial Base Policy, was built to revitalize American manufacturing through hands-on training in casting and forging. 

Through K-12 workshops and university bootcamps, METAL introduces students and career seekers to modern metalcasting and forging careers. Participants can complete METAL’s  free online training before attending immersive, in-person bootcamps led by professional metallurgists and manufacturing experts like Amy across the country. 

For nearly a week, bootcamp participants gain hands-on experience in casting design and pouring processes. The trainees pound sand into molds, learn CAD software, pour molten metal, and machine-finish parts. Participants leave with their own metal creations, foundational metalcasting and forging skills, and a clearer picture of promising careers in aerospace, automotive and defense manufacturing.  

Amy Wheelock poses beside Dr. Uday Vaidya.

Wheelock works closely with IACMI Chief Technology Officer Dr. Uday Vaidya.

Building an Innovative Curriculum

UTK’s investment casting program hasn’t been around long.

“For us, this is the beginning of investment casting…we started this program about a year and a half ago,” said Wheelock.

The program’s origins began when university faculty, specifically IACMI Chief Technology Officer Dr. Uday Vaidya, identified the need for a specialized casting program that previously did not exist. Wheelock, a mechanical engineer who was auditing a class, was invited to help get the project off the ground.

“By the end of the semester, he’s [Vaidya] like, ‘You know, we’ve got some projects, I need to start up an investment casting program, would you like to come work for us?'”

Stepping into the role of research coordinator, Wheelock became a key part of the team. The program strategically grew from its initial, small-scale concepts, like jewelry, to processing high-temperature industrial metals. Today, the curriculum involves working with Nordic Gold at 2,000°F and castable 356 aluminum alloys to produce precision-engineering components such as miniature turbine blades. “

“Investment casting is everywhere. It’s in aerospace. It’s in automotive. It’s in defense,” Wheelock said of the prominence of cast parts.

METAL is a key aspect of the UTK investment casting program.

“METAL [the program] is a fundamental part of the investment casting program. We teach both sand and investment casting and machining,” said Wheelock. “Teaching the importance of casting is part of developing the next generation of people that can go into the workforce. We’re having diminishing numbers of people that have any knowledge of metalwork.”

The Technical Precision of Investment Casting

A major focal point of the curriculum is mastering the investment casting process itself. Historically referred to as “lost-wax casting,” this method has evolved significantly in modern foundries. Instead of carving beeswax by hand, students and technicians in the program frequently utilize 3D-printed PLA filaments or wax-based resins to create highly detailed patterns.

These patterns are assembled onto a central sprue, encased in a ceramic slurry, and baked in a burnout oven at extreme temperatures, often for up to 14 hours, to vaporize the original pattern and harden the ceramic. Finally, molten metal is drawn into the mold using advanced vacuum-casting machines. This method eliminates parting lines and achieves exceptional geometric tolerances, producing precision components that require minimal post-process machining. By mastering this technique, students are directly prepared for high-level manufacturing roles in aerospace, automotive, and beyond.

Mentoring the Next Generation

The core mission of the investment casting program is educational outreach. The foundry serves as a dynamic classroom for immersive METAL Bootcamps and workshops. Participants as young as high school age gain hands-on experience with metalcasting and the science behind it.”It’s a great thing when young people are trying to figure out what they want to do, to expose them to a lot of different things,” Wheelock notes. “A lot of people don’t really get exposure to metal casting or metal working, and it may be something that they could find really interesting and make a career out of that they otherwise would have never known existed.”

By teaching the intricate, one-piece mold process of investment casting, the program demonstrates exactly how engineering and materials science intersect. Students learn firsthand how selecting a specific material dictates the manufacturing technique, and how that technique, in turn, alters material properties.

Coming Soon: The Robotic Foundry

The innovation at UT doesn’t stop with traditional casting. Drawing on advanced machine design principles, the university is bringing advanced automation directly into the foundry and its METAL Bootcamps and workshops.

Some of these machines are already active in the foundry, with the full system expected to be online later this summer.

Students pose with a robotic arm in a university lab.

UTK is integrating new robotics tools into its METAL curriculum.

Stay tuned for an upcoming feature exploring how these robotic assistants are revolutionizing safety and precision on the foundry floor.

From Bootcamp to Career: How METAL and Laborup are Rebuilding America’s Manufacturing Workforce

METAL, led by IACMI – The Composites Institute®, and funded by the Department of War’s IBAS Program, was built to revitalize American manufacturing through hands-on training. Now, in a new partnership with hiring platform Laborup, METAL is connecting aspiring metal workers with the jobs forging America’s future.

For anyone eager to build a high-energy, high-impact career with real earning potential, there’s no shortage of opportunity in metal manufacturing. It’s exciting work that rewards precision, grit and problem-solving — and America needs more people ready to step into it.

As President Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy pushes to rebuild America’s industrial base, manufacturing demand is rising fast. At the same time, Baby Boomers are retiring at record rates, leaving critical workforce gaps across the metal industry. By 2033, nearly 4 million manufacturing jobs could be available nationwide.

Manufacturers need to hire — fast. Yet workforce shortages and ineffective recruiting are slowing efforts to fill the jobs that the nation’s supply chain and armed forces directly depend on.

Together, METAL and Laborup, creator of the artificial intelligence (AI) software empowering America’s most critical workforce needs, are closing the employment gap by training future metal workers and helping manufacturers connect with skilled talent faster.

Step 1: Train the Next Generation of Metal Workers

Jonga, a tech entrepreneur and chemical engineer, said his first time in a foundry felt surreal. The blasts of heat, sparks and piles of newly formed metal reminded him of his time working on an oil rig.

“You know the feeling you have when you’re standing in front of an ocean? You feel small. Being in a foundry almost feels the same,” Jonga said. “Once you’re in the industry, there’s no leaving. This thing happens to you when you experience and see that.”

Jonga has also experienced the frustrations and pitfalls of working for manufacturers short on skilled trades people. Million dollar projects halt or fall behind, not because teams can’t hire engineers, but because they struggle to find qualified metalcasters, machinists, welders and fabricators.

“Even now, as we work with companies doing critical work for our military, the government and in energy, they don’t have a shortage of work. It’s a shortage of people,” he explained.

But how do you get skilled trades people in the foundry door? Welcome them in.

Through K-12 workshops and university bootcamps, METAL introduces students and career seekers to modern metalcasting and forging careers. Participants can complete METAL’s free online training before attending immersive, in-person bootcamps led by professional metallurgists and manufacturing experts across the country.

For nearly a week, bootcamp participants gain hands-on experience in sand casting design and pouring processes. The trainees pound sand into molds, learn CAD software, pour molten metal, and machine finished parts. Participants leave with their own metal creations, foundational metalcasting and forging skills, and a clearer picture of promising careers in aerospace, automotive and defense manufacturing.

High school student Yash Babar said the bootcamp introduced him to careers in foundry operations, quality testing, and casting production that he didn’t know existed before.

“It gave me a ton of exposure,” Babar said about the bootcamp. “It showed me that I don’t have to have a desk job when I grow up. I could be doing something with my hands, I could be creating something. It opened up a new perspective.”

As more than half of Millennials (63%) and Gen Z (65%) worry about AI eliminating jobs, apprenticeships and skills-based trades are becoming more attractive to younger workers.

“The public is on high alert,” said Dr. Vasileios Maroulas, Director of AI Tennessee. “Technological innovation and workforce demands are now outpacing the size of our workforce and the average worker’s skill set.”

Jonga believes AI should help workers access opportunity — not replace them.

“Frankly, there’s millions of job openings in manufacturing, so there’s a lot to be done,” Jonga said. “AI is how we can amplify people and get them in the best role for them.”

Now, thanks to Laborup, bootcamp participants won’t just leave METAL’s training with new skills and potential. They’ll also have direct access to a tool and resources designed to help them launch careers in manufacturing.

Step 2: Turn Training Into Real Career Opportunities

Billions of people use popular platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed to search for jobs every day. But Jonga said most networking platforms were built for office workers behind computers — not foundry workers operating 2,000°F furnaces or climbing 20-foot molds before a pour.

Laborup is different.

Through AI-powered technology, Laborup connects manufacturers with vetted, skilled workers five to ten times faster than traditional staffing agencies. Trades professionals can start by creating a free profile and speaking their job history and skills into the app. Laborup’s voice AI takes it from there, generating a resume and job profile recruiters can quickly evaluate. Once a profile is complete, the app begins matching workers with manufacturing opportunities aligned with their experience, skills and wage expectations.

“We wanted to build something a 65-year-old welder or metal worker can use just as easily as a 17-year-old machinist,” Jonga said. “With Laborup, someone can make a resume from a conversation. We want to make it that simple.”

Since launching two years ago, Laborup has connected with more than 100,000 skilled workers while helping manufacturers cut hiring costs by more than 50%. According to company data, workers using the platform earn about 30% more in their next role on average.

“I was a little skeptical at first, but wow was I wrong,” a senior CNC machinist from Oak Ridge, Tennessee said about Laborup. “The platform itself is easy to use, but also the people behind it are easy to reach and help you along the way. It’s awesome to see something built for us.”

A maintenance machinist from Knoxville, Tennessee added, “Finding high-paying manufacturing jobs is hard. Laborup is making it easy and putting us workers first.”

Laborup also offers in-app career coaching and interview preparation. Jonga said his team works with companies from small machine shops to Fortune 500s to better understand the technical and soft skills companies look for in manufacturing hires. Looking ahead, he hopes to use video and virtual reality to give workers a firsthand look inside modern foundries.

“How can we bring the career resources that a person on Vanderbilt’s campus or University of Tennessee’s campus has to a worker in rural Pennsylvania?” Jonga asked. “AI really breaks down the barriers for this workforce to interact, but also for training and career prep.”

Step 3: Help Modern Manufacturers Hire Faster and Smarter

Manufacturers are embracing Laborup, too, noticing the app’s top talent.

When aerospace and defense manufacturer Oak Ridge Tool-Engineering (ORT-E) needed a better way to hire qualified machinists and engineers, President Steve Mullins decided to try Laborup. The app’s speed, convenience and rigorous applicant screening process helped ORT-E reduce staffing costs while identifying candidates more likely to stay long-term.

“By the time Laborup sends me someone, I already know they’re a good fit,” Mullins said. “I’d be afraid to tell my competitors about Laborup. They’d get an edge on me.”

With METAL, Jonga said Laborup is greasing America’s metal manufacturing pipeline — helping trained bootcamp participants move from the classroom into high-demand manufacturing careers.

“At the end of the day, we want to create more skilled workers and revitalize metal working,” Jonga said. “But it will take everyone — training programs, the government, employers and platforms like ours — to make this work and achieve everything the U.S. wants to achieve.”

Ready to forge a new career? Start METAL’s free online training and visit our events page to attend the next METAL bootcamp or workshop near you.

Create your Laborup profile today by downloading the app in the Apple Store or on Google Play.