While attending last week’s Manufacturing First Expo in Green Bay, WI, Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) Field Coordinator Meghan McKeefry had the opportunity to check out Northeast Wisconsin Technical College's (NWTC) new Computer Integrated Mobile Lab.

This high-tech mobile classroom features 12 cutting-edge advanced manufacturing machines mounted on a 44-foot trailer and truck. Designed in partnership with local businesses, the lab showcases the types of modern facilities that today’s manufacturers are staffing with a new generation of skilled workers.

As Mark Weber, dean of the trades and engineering program at NWTC recently told CBS during a segment on the manufacturing skills gap, the lab "demonstrates to the next generation that today's shop floor is not all grease and noise.”

The lab will be touring high schools in Northeast Wisconsin, and some students will be able to use the mobile classroom to earn more than a better understanding of the modern factory floor: Technical education teachers in participating school districts can be certified to incorporate the lab into school curricula, and participating students can earn advanced college credits.

Click here to learn more about the Computer Integrated Mobile Lab