MELBOURNE, Fla. — One particular category of today's jobs are in high demand, but it's a challenge to prove this industry isn't what it used to be.

Now, people interested in manufacturing can use a Space Coast-based program to find a long-lasting career.

  • Program helps train people who want to work in manufacturing 
  • It's called the Certified Production Technician Program
  • In the 10-week course has so far, 250 graduates have passed through

It's steady work at Melbourne's United Space Coast Cables, where cable assemblies are built, using wires, connectors, and switches with a team of nearly 40 employees.

Matt Cromwell of Palm Bay supervises the warehouse, who is hard at work making sure the shipping and receiving orders are right.

"You are the first person to make contact with the parts when they come in," Cromwell said. "And the last person who can catch something wrong on the shipments going out."

Cromwell admits before this job, he never considered a career in manufacturing. In fact, he and his dad flipped houses until the market went up too high to make a profit.

That's when he found out about the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast Certified Production Technician Program.

The program is a 10-week course that so far, 250 graduates have passed through. Plus 87 percent of them have jobs.

"It really was perfect for me," Cromwell told Spectrum News. "Because it gave you a general overview of what manufacturing is all about."

"It's about getting people into manufacturing with basic foundational skills, and local companies can train them from there," said Elizabeth Huy, Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast.

Local, smaller companies like USCC say the CPT program, or talent pool, is an ideal fit for them.

"You recognize that they have a burning desire, and an interest in it," said Bryan Holm, owner and CEO United Space Coast Cables. "This is the type of employee that we are looking for."

Cromwell fits that mold just right. He's been promoted several times in his short stint at the company.

"If you are dedicated and have talent, and you want to be part of a team, there are so many companies that will 'make' a place for you," he said.