LONGMONT - Front Range Community College, the Longmont Area Economic Council and the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. will sponsor quarterly roundtable discussions and presentations for manufacturers in Northern Colorado.

The first roundtable, set for Feb. 7, will focus on the lack of skilled welders in the workforce and the future of welder training in Northern Colorado.

The breakfast roundtable is scheduled for 7:30 to 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, in the Community Room of the Classroom Building at FRCC's Boulder County campus, 2121 Miller Drive, Longmont.

EWI Institute and RealWeld Systems Inc. will give a presentation on RealWeld's patent-pending motion-capture technology to analyze and score-welding techniques with the arc welder on or practice welding with the arc welder off.

EWI, located in Columbus, Ohio, is a nationally recognized model for providing technology resources for commercializing and implementing manufacturing technologies.

"We want to bring manufacturers together to discuss workforce needs and technology needs," said Lynn Vosler, director of FRCC's Workforce Development division. Earlier this year, Workforce Development opened a noncredit precision machining program as a response to manufacturers in Northern Colorado finding a lack of skilled machinists to hire.

"The growth we have seen in manufacturing reverses the long-term trend of decline," said John Cody, president and chief executive of the LAEC. "Boulder County has manufacturing employment that is nearly double the state's average. Its importance to our economy cannot be overstated. These sessions will give us input form the 'horse's mouth,' and that's exactly what we want to hear - what manufacturing companies need to be more successful."

"Manufacturing is a key driver of the economy," said Walt Elish, president of NCEDC. "One challenge manufacturing faces is finding skilled labor to expand and grow. These roundtables will be a way to hear about the needs of manufacturers and start to develop some solutions."

R.S.V.P. by Feb. 4 to the NCEDC at 970-667-0905 or ahoffmat@ncedc.com.

ResourceMFG, a manufacturing staffing firm, is sponsoring the breakfast.