Manufacturing Bootcamp at Bahr's Technical Center Aims to Fill Local Industrial Jobs

A dozen Zephyrhills residents are spending two weeks learning to solder, wire and read technical prints inside Bahr's Technical Center, training for manufacturing jobs opening up just down the road from where they live. The bootcamp, run by the nonprofit AmSkills, is designed to get local workers hired at the industrial plants now filling in Zephyrhills' growing corridor, rather than commuting to Tampa or Clearwater for similar work.

The program covers soldering, electrical basics, mechanical repair and print reading, the fundamental skills employers look for on a factory floor. Tyler Mudano, AmSkills' director of operations, says the bootcamp is meant for people exploring a switch into manufacturing, and that the group is working through those fundamentals over two weeks before meeting employers directly.

The city of Zephyrhills and Pasco County Community Development are funding the effort, with roughly $50,000 to $60,000 set aside to run two or three of these bootcamps across East Pasco. That money covers instruction and materials, and lets AmSkills bring the training into the community instead of requiring residents to travel to a training center elsewhere in the county.

A direct line to a job interview

When the two weeks end, graduates don't just get a certificate. They sit down face to face with a local employer and interview on the spot. For a resident who has spent months or years driving to jobs outside the county, that is the entire point of the program.

One participant, Zephyrhills resident Heather Oliveras, has commuted as far as downtown Tampa and Clearwater for work in the past, describing the drive as stressful and exhausting. She says opportunities close to home have been scarce, and that the arrival of manufacturing plants in Zephyrhills has changed that.

That line captures Mayor Melonie Bahr Monson's pitch for the bootcamp. She says four industrial companies have set up in Zephyrhills this year alone: Bauducco, MiTek, Monin and Tibbett's Lumber. Bauducco and Monin are both locating at the Zephyrhills Airport Industrial Park Ready Site, MiTek is building in the North Tampa Bay Industrial Park, and Tibbett's Lumber broke ground on a new flagship facility on Chancey Road. Together the projects represent hundreds of jobs headed for the city over the next year or two, and the mayor's focus, in her words, has been on bringing that industry to Zephyrhills so residents don't have to leave the city to find work.

What comes next

Mayor Bahr Monson says the goal is to run more programs like this one in Zephyrhills as additional plants come online. AmSkills' funding is earmarked for two or three bootcamps in East Pasco, meaning this session in Zephyrhills is likely not the last. Neither the city nor AmSkills has announced dates for a follow-up session yet.

Have a family member or neighbor thinking about a career change into manufacturing? Stories like this one are exactly what Zephyrhills Community Website was built to cover, and we'll keep tracking these programs as the city's industrial corridor keeps filling in. Share your thoughts or ask questions in our Community Forum, and check out more business development stories and local government and politics coverage for more on what's shaping Zephyrhills right now.