They want them to be able to use it quickly, and for the software to be user friendly.”ĭavid Barata graduated from Diman Regional in 2013 and now works for Herrick & White Architectural Woodworkers, based in Cumberland, R.I., where Alphacam and Cabinet Vision are used. “They don’t want to spend hundreds of hours teaching employees. “There are a lot of software companies out there, but most of the employers who are hiring our kids use Alphacam and Cabinet Vision,” Botelho says. Training students both solutions will also make them even more desirable for some of the nation’s top woodworking businesses. Teaching both systems, Botelho says, will ensure that there’s nothing that Diman Regional’s graduates cannot accomplish once they’re in the workforce. While Alphacam is ideal for programming and managing complex shapes, Cabinet Vision is specifically designed to draw, program and manage all aspects of cabinetry projects. “We teach them the trade itself - such as hand skills - and then we move on to CNC skills.” “The student body we’re dealing with come in as freshmen and they really have no experience,” Botelho says. The school also plans to implement Vero Software’s Cabinet Vision design-to-manufacturing solution in the near future.
“Our students are one step ahead because they know how everything physically goes together, and then they learn how to run the programs and use all of the tools at their disposal.”įor more than a decade, Diman Regional has been using the Alphacam computer-aided-manufacturing (CAM) solution for wood, stone and metal, by Vero Software, to train its students in the carpentry and cabinetmaking trade. “First off, they must know how a cabinet goes together,” Botelho says.
At Diman Regional, the goal is to train a highly-employable workforce competent with the latest technologies without sacrificing traditional, quality craftsmanship. While robots have replaced their human predecessors in some factory jobs, manufacturing positions in many other areas continue to grow, and to evolve. “The demand for skilled labor is so high that we don’t even have enough students to meet that demand.” “The demand for skilled labor is there, because everyone needs CNC programmers,” says Manny Botelho, head of Diman Regional’s carpentry and cabinetmaking department and junior cabinetmaking instructor. When it comes to bridging a widening skills gap, institutions like Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School of Fall River, Mass., are a welcome resource for industry leaders in search of well-trained and talented employees. Many manufacturers who embrace technology to remain competitive find that implementing the latest machinery and software can be easier than finding the skilled labor needed to successfully use it.