# Educating the New Collar Workforce with Sarah Boisvert

- Show: [Manufacturing Happy Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour)
- Published: 2022-03-22
- Length: 41m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-03-22-educating-the-new-collar-workforce-with-sarah-boisvert
- Listen: http://manufacturinghappyhour.com

## Summary

Sarah Boisvert, founder of the New Collar Network and Fab Lab Hub, explains how her career in laser technology and 3D printing led to addressing the manufacturing skills gap through short, problem-solving-based training. She details the structure of Fab Labs, the use of digital badges to verify skills, and the shift from traditional degrees to portfolio-based hiring. Boisvert highlights the importance of hands-on project-based learning, citing specific examples like students designing replacement parts for tractors and wildfire sensors, to prepare a workforce capable of critical thinking and technical execution.

## Chapters

- [0:47](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-03-22-educating-the-new-collar-workforce-with-sarah-boisvert#t=47) Introduction: Sarah Boisvert and the New Collar Movement
- [4:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-03-22-educating-the-new-collar-workforce-with-sarah-boisvert#t=255) Sarah's Career: Lasers, Potomac Photonics, and Market Segmentation
- [12:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-03-22-educating-the-new-collar-workforce-with-sarah-boisvert#t=764) Transition to 3D Printing and Fab Labs
- [17:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-03-22-educating-the-new-collar-workforce-with-sarah-boisvert#t=1020) Fab Lab Hub: Short, Skill-Specific Training Programs
- [19:56](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-03-22-educating-the-new-collar-workforce-with-sarah-boisvert#t=1196) Problem-Solving Portfolios and Digital Badges
- [27:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-03-22-educating-the-new-collar-workforce-with-sarah-boisvert#t=1675) Apprenticeships and Real-World Manufacturing Projects
- [34:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-03-22-educating-the-new-collar-workforce-with-sarah-boisvert#t=2090) The Future of Education and College Decline

## Topics

- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- New Collar Network (company)
- Fab Lab Hub (company)
- Potomac Photonics (company)
- IBM (company)
- MIT (company)
- America Makes (company)
- TinkerCad (tool)
- Fusion 360 (tool)
- Rhino (tool)
- SolidWorks (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [The Learning Factory: Closing the Skill Gap Starts with Education w/ Mike Nager](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2021-11-16-the-learning-factory-closing-the-skill-gap-starts-with-education-w-mike-nager) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [The NFL Draft, The NBA Draft and... The Manufacturing Skills Draft? w/ Dr. Jason Scales](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2021-08-10-the-nfl-draft-the-nba-draft-and-the-manufacturing-skills-draft-w-dr-jason-scales) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [The Shared Responsibility of Upskilling the Workforce w/ Bill Berrien](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2023-03-14-the-shared-responsibility-of-upskilling-the-workforce-w-bill-berrien) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Forwardskilling: Technical Training for the Existing Workforce w/ Bill Berrien](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-01-21-forwardskilling-technical-training-for-the-existing-workforce-w-bill-berrien) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [The Critical Shift: Bridging the Generational Gap in PCB Design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ontrack/2024-03-26-the-critical-shift-bridging-the-generational-gap-in-pcb-design) (OnTrack)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-03-22-educating-the-new-collar-workforce-with-sarah-boisvert. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Manufacturing Happy Hour.