Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Tegra Medical Invests in an In-House Apprenticeship Model

About

Tegra Medical, based in Franklin, Massachusetts, is a premier contract manufacturer specializing in medical instruments. Committed to efficiency and quality, Tegra Medical focuses on enhancing production processes and delivering top-tier products for the medical field while prioritizing employee development. Their services range from prototyping and design for manufacturability to full-scale production, assembly, and packaging.

The Challenge

Tegra Medical needed to accelerate skill development for current and new employees.  Senior Manufacturing Engineer/Apprentice Administrator Ken Nadeau identified the importance of equipping staff with essential manufacturing skills and established an apprenticeship program within the company. He, along with staff in Operations, collaborated with trade schools to recruit promising graduates interested in pursuing a manufacturing career at Tegra Medical. Nadeau sought support from MassMEP, part of the MEP National Network™.

Since the kickoff of our first training curriculum, we have implemented Tooling U into all of our apprenticeship programs to supplement the skill development of our employees throughonline training modules. Each of our apprentices look forward to challenging themselves each week with more complex classes.A seamless partnership with Mass MEP has made that possible year after year at Tegra Medical.

— Ken Nadeau , Senior Manufacturing Engineer/Apprentice Administrator

MEP's Role

MassMEP identified Tooling U training as an ideal solution to effectively onboard new apprentices. Tooling U is an online learning platform with over 600 classes that manufacturers purchase subscriptions to through MassMEP to onboard new employees and apprentices. Tooling U has a section dedicated to manufacturing with courses ranging from "Lean, Additive, and Safety" to "Smart Manufacturing," which MassMEP clients find very user-friendly and extremely helpful. Many MassMEP clients use Tooling U to onboard new employees to and help get them familiar with lean concepts in manufacturing. 

Tegra Medical has provided Tooling U training as an onboarding requirement for new operators, including the course, "Tool & Die Maker, Swiss Machining, Precision." The training gives Tegra Medical a benchmark on employee skills, while allowing the employees to take the training in a relaxed online environment.

Created January 14, 2025