Saving jobs in the Rockford area in the future could depend upon how well our local workforce adapts to the changing times.. 23 news Economic Reporter Kristin Burke tells us what some organizations are doing to get our kids to become entrepreneurs.

There's no nuts and bolts about it.. a changing of the guard is set to take place at local manufacturing outfits .. as a breed of new workers begin to step onto the shop floor .

" I want to be a welder.. why... My mom welds and she told me a lot of great things about it."

Joseph and others will have some big shoes to fill to meet the demand that is coming, and local manufacturers are taking a hands on approach... Counting on partnerships and camps to arm these future workers with the skills and training needed to compete down the road.

" I don't think there is enough skilled workers to meet demand that is coming, People don't understand the state of the art things were doing. The math that is necessary the communication skills the networking skills that are needed."

"The average manufacturing employee in Rockford is 56 years old and with a record number expected to retire every year.. the future of the industry is in our kids hands."

"The training that needs to happen is on machines so its teaching people how to run the CNC machines that are here."

As our region becomes more of an aerospace cluster Beach-Shelow believes a higher skill level of engineers and workers will be critical to run the machines necessary to make parts for these firms... and the best way to get kids excited about their future is getting parents our schools and local businesses on board.

This years Nuts Bolts and Thingamajigs camp will be held at Rock Valley College from July 26th through the 30th. To sign-up, call Tech works at (815)871-6415.