It is not every day you get an invitation to go the state capital because the governor wants to talk about you during his 2018 budget address to the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

Michael Rosenberger, 29, of Norristown, Pa., said the phone call inviting him to the capital was unexpected but a nice surprise.

“A few years ago, a group of government officials toured LCR Embedded Systems, Inc ., in Norristown where I work,” said Rosenberger. “His staff remembered me and invited me to come to Harrisburg.”

The purpose of that visit and tour in 2015 was to promote the Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania (WEDnetPA), and included Dennis M. Davin, the secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

Davin remembered Rosenberger and recently invited him to Harrisburg.

LCR designs, develops, and manufactures enclosures, backplanes, and fully integrated systems for aerospace and defense contractors, as well as commercial, rail, and industrial markets. Rosenberger works as a CNC machinist/supervisor in the machine shop.

During the budget address, Governor Tom Wolf spoke about Rosenberger and his job training, noting he is an excellent example of investment in workforce training. He is successfully employed, earning family-sustaining wages, because he has the skills and training needed for today’s high-skilled manufacturing careers.

Rosenberger received that training through Montgomery County Community College’s Machinist-CNC Operator Certificate program with the support of the DCED. The program prepares employees to work in advanced manufacturing, teaching such skills as blueprint reading, CNC mill operations, tool identification and basic measurements, among others.

Rosenberger started working for LCR as a janitor, with the help of his grandfather, Nicholas Melentonio, who worked in the maintenance department. After working as a janitor for about nine months, he started learning how to be a machine operator.

“I started helping as a machine operator, but the person training me left the department,” Rosenberger said. “To keep my job, I had to learn how to do it.”

He heard about MCCC’s workforce training and enrolled in the 225-hour Computerized Numeric Control (CNC) evening program, earning his certificate in 2013.

“I was doing the work, but my skills were not advanced enough to do the job without the CNC program,” said Rosenberger, who has since recommended the program to others interested in the field.

After completing the CNC program, he started a four-year apprenticeship program to be a journeyman machinist. He continued receiving on-the-job training while going to evening classes at North Montco Technical Career Center in Lansdale, Pa., where the program was held.

Today, he is a CNC machinist/supervisor and takes care of all the responsibilities in the machine shop, which he truly enjoys.

“The cliché is true – if you love your job, you don’t feel like you’re working,” he said.