ROCKFORD (WIFR) --"It's exciting. I'll be able to pay off my bills and save my house."

For thousands of those still looking for a job, it's no longer a question of how but more a question of when. But for Michael Niedermeier, the quest is over.

"The market out there is terrible. I would still be out there handing out applications and pounding on doors."

Niedermeier was hired on Friday as a CNC machinist after completing a six week training program, for a job that pays a starting salary around $36,000.

"When you're done, you're ready to go."

The strategy of the Techworks program is to arm workers with the skills local machining companies say they lack, Graduates who are certified to run computer operated machines, A tweak Techworks recently made to its curriculum.

"The curriculum is longer, more hands on, more testing, and to produce more a more employable student or graduate at the end."

It's a big change, and one that didn't come easy for Niedermeier.

"Those machines can be intimidating." But he and others in the first class of CNC machinists are already reaping the rewards.