# Build Your Workforce Before You Need It: MSP's Apprenticeship Pipeline | Ep. 539

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/making-chips-podcast-for-manufacturing-leaders-439170/build-your-workforce-before-you-need-it-msp-s-apprenticeship-pipeline-ep-539
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/making-chips-podcast-for-manufacturing-leaders-439170/build-your-workforce-before-you-need-it-msp-s-apprenticeship-pipeline-ep-539.md
Podcast: [Making Chips Podcast for Manufacturing Leaders](https://stenobird.com/podcast/making-chips-podcast-for-manufacturing-leaders-439170)
Published: 2026-09-07T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://makingchips.libsyn.com/build-your-workforce-before-you-need-it-msps-apprenticeship-pipeline-ep-539
Audio file: https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/pscrb.fm/rss/p/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/makingchips/MC539.mp3?dest-id=237805
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/making-chips-podcast-for-manufacturing-leaders-439170/episodes/build-your-workforce-before-you-need-it-msp-s-apprenticeship-pipeline-ep-539
Duration seconds: 3307

## Resource

Most machine shops start thinking seriously about workforce development when they already need someone. A machinist quits, capacity jumps, the backlog grows, and suddenly finding skilled people becomes an emergency. MSP Manufacturing has taken a very different approach. Johnny Goode joins Paul and Brooke to explain how MSP has spent years building relationships with high schools, apprenticeship programs, students, parents, and the broader manufacturing community. Now, as the company experiences more than 50% revenue growth, that investment is starting to pay off. We dig into ROI Uplands, a regional program connecting high school students with real employers, and what it actually looks like to bring 16- and 17-year-olds into a working machine shop. Can apprentices contribute meaningfully in an environment where quality, safety, and precision matter? How much training does it take? And what happens to your culture when young people become a regular part of the team? We also get into the bigger problem facing manufacturing: many students and their parents still have no idea what these careers actually look like. Johnny, Paul, and Brooke talk about the earning potential hiding inside modern manufacturing, why exposure needs to start long before graduation, and what shops can do to help create the next generation of machinists instead of waiting for someone else to do it. What's Covered in this Episode (0:00) Why these apprentices hold themselves to a higher standard than anyone sets for them (2:17) Reintroducing Johnny Goode and getting a snapshot of MSP Manufacturing (4:11) 30 employees, six apprentices, and 50% revenue growth without adding bodies (5:30) How ROI Uplands links nine counties of Indiana high schools to local employers (7:51) Take your shop to the next level…

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## Transcript

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