By Bryan Reid
In March 2025, then 14-year-old Luke Weiler started a small manufacturing business in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario called Fleetwood Engraving.
Fleetwood Engraving specializes in custom order laser engraved products like water bottles, dog tags and wooden signs.
“I’m hoping that it’ll be able to generate enough profit to maybe even help pay towards tuition eventually. Maybe I might not have to get a job and I could just work my own business,” said Weiler, now 15 and in Grade 10 at I.E. Weldon Secondary School in Lindsay.
Weiler first heard about the Kawartha Makes program through his parents, both teachers at Lindsay Collegiate and Vocational Institute (LCVI), and saw it as an opportunity to learn about large scale industrial laser engraving and 3D printing technology while also picking up important skills that will help him when he eventually joins the workforce.
“I think it definitely helped me for future careers. It showed us how to make a good resumé and what employers are looking for, which is really going to help me if I’m trying to get into engineering because you need pretty good skills to get into that. It also helped me with my small business by showing me new kinds of [design] software that I can use,” said Weiler.
Funded in part by the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, Ampere’s Kawartha Makes program offered the youth (ages 15 to 29) of Kawartha Lakes an introduction to the advanced manufacturing industry and the skilled trades. Through Kawartha Makes, participants got to explore advanced manufacturing technology and software, connect and learn from local manufacturers like Dan Kitchen at Make Stuff Move, and learn the skills needed to launch their own business or pursue an entry-level position in a profession that is desperately in need of workers.
By 2034, the government of Ontario projects that one in six job openings in the province will be in skilled trades-related occupations. On top of that, at least one in three workers in Ontario with an apprenticeship or trade certificate is aged 55 or over and nearing retirement. Ontario’s not alone as the government of Canada projects that the skilled trades industry will see an estimated 700,000 skilled trades workers in Canada retire by 2028
“It’s almost like the lack of skilled trades workers is becoming an issue of national security,” says Kitchen, recalling a conversation with military recruiters at a trade show a couple years ago. The recruiters explained that the military typically builds its own infrastructure and assets domestically but a shortage of skilled trades workers (electricians, plumbers, carpenters, etc.) is making that increasingly difficult for them.
Kitchen owns Make Stuff Move, a manufacturing and education company in Kawartha Lakes that provides turn-key, hands-on learning kits to help educators bring skilled trades, STEAM education and real-world skills into any classroom. He co-designed Kawartha Makes with Ampere.
“The real premise of programs like Kawartha Makes is [explaining] that apprenticeships are a third option for young people because for a lot of years it was always [choosing between] college or university. That was how you’d become valuable, make money and have a good career and we’re finally realizing, as a society, that we need people that do the hands-on stuff too,” says Kitchen.
Weiler is too young to consider a college or university program right now but he’s at the right age to start thinking about his future and Kawartha Makes was a great opportunity for him to learn what’s out there.
“I actually just kind of started to think about [my future] quite a bit more because some of the courses that I have to choose for Grade 11 will affect me in Grade 12. And so right now I’m thinking that I might go to the University of Tech Ontario to become an automotive engineer, engineer or possibly a millwright,” says Weiler.
From high school students looking for options to young adults looking for opportunity, the program brought in all kinds of participants.
“You have people in the program that have never seen a laser, never touched tools, versus a kid like [Luke] who’s already been trying to do his own thing with a laser,” says Kitchen.
The program was very hands-on with some of it taking place at Kitchen’s Make Stuff Move shop. The shop is equipped with high-end laser engravers and high-end 3D printers, that you’d typically only get to experience in a college or university lab. Kitchen showed participants how to use some of the industrial size tech and equipment, even walking them through the different software programs that control the machines.
“That was pretty awesome. I really thought that that’s kind of what I was thinking about. That would probably be the dream [for my own shop]. It’s really cool to see that he has such big lasers and he taught me quite a bit on how to make my laser better and showed me some new material that is really cool and can help me with some new products,” says Weiler when talking about visiting the Make Stuff Move shop.
Experiencing the manufacturing shop environment was a big part of the program, but the opportunity for Kitchen to clear up some common misconceptions about the manufacturing industry was just as important.
“Everybody thinks it’s putting things in a box on an assembly line, right? But it’s a big industry. Within any single company, you have accounting, you have design, you have documentation, you have HR, you have so many different roles. Just because you’re in this program learning these things doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to be the person that’s going to be a machine operator or a millwright, but having understanding of how the business works is important,” says Kitchen.
While the advanced manufacturing industry and the skilled trades may not be for everyone, it’s hard for young jobseekers to know what careers to pursue without having experienced them themselves. Kawartha Makes provided equitable access to the industry by opening the doors to underrepresented young jobseekers in Kawartha Lakes.
For program participants like Luke Weiler, the experience was invaluable. Not only did it help him with his small manufacturing business, but it helped him to start thinking about what he wants to do next and he wants other people to have the same opportunity as he did.
“I definitely would recommend it to friends or family. I did recommend it to one of my friends and I believe he got in, which is really cool. I definitely recommend it to people who are interested in manufacturing, want to learn a bit more about that industry and jobs there and what kind of jobs you can get there,” says Weiler.
Career planning and workforce readiness training are more important for young people now than maybe ever before. With advanced technology, innovation and the efficiencies created by Artificial Intelligence (AI) regularly changing the job market, it’s hard to forecast what the future workforce will even look like. There are some certainties though. One of which is that the need for skilled trades workers and people that can work with their hands isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
“In a world where AI is coming into play, if you’ve got the ability to do hands-on work, you’re even more valuable and your career is even safer,” said Kitchen.
As the job market changes and the need for skilled trades workers grows, programs like Kawartha Makes are providing underrepresented young workers with an opportunity to dip their toes into the manufacturing and skilled trades industry to see if it’s the right career path for them.
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Ampere’s Lifecycle
Have you heard about Ampere’s Lifecycle? It illustrates how we support learners in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities at every stage of life and learning. Our Lifecycle includes:
- Advocacy – Showing up for rural, remote, and Indigenous communities
- Mentorship – Amplifying voices and building capacity
- Production – Enabling creators and leaders
- Employment – Developing local, sustainable STEAM careers
- Resources – Providing fair access for all learners
- Education – Delivering hands-on, tech-driven learning
The Kawartha Makes program covered the entire lifecycle: Advocacy, Mentorship, Production, Employment, Resources and Education.