Mold Engineering and the Skilled Labor Shortage: Liberty Molds’ Response

Walk into any U.S. factory and you'll hear it: "We need skilled workers." The moldmaking industry feels this strongly. Finding people who know the full process (from raw steel to finished tool) is very difficult.

At Liberty Molds, we saw this challenge not as a dead end, but as a call to do things differently. Waiting for the perfect candidate with decades of specific experience wasn't a workable plan. Instead, we decided to build that expertise from the ground up and foster it from within. Our response to the skilled labor shortage is rooted in two connected ideas. Structured training that teaches the full spectrum of mold engineering and creating cross-functional roles that break down old departmental walls. This approach is about building a stronger and more capable team for the long term.

The Problem

For years, the industry worked in isolated groups, or "silos." A designer made the tool, a machinist cut the steel, a polisher finished it, and a technician tried to make it run in a press. When problems came up, solving them became a slow game of telephone between departments. This disconnect delays projects and frustrates the team.

The old apprenticeship model has value but is harder to keep up. It can take years to learn every part of mold building. We needed a faster way to build understanding and create team members who see the whole process from the start with fast-paced client schedules.

Building the Bench

We believe the solution starts long before a resume lands on our desk. That’s why we’ve made a point to engage directly with the educational pipeline in our community. Our team members work with local high schools, teaching students to the real-world applications of math and physics in a machine shop. We partner with the community college, providing input on their machining and CAD curriculum to help align classroom learning with the needs of the shop floor.

Most significantly, we’ve developed a strong relationship with the nearby university’s engineering program. This isn’t just about donating money; it’s about donating time and insight. Our engineers present guest lectures on mold design principles, host plant tours for engineering students and support senior capstone projects. The goal is simple. The goal is to spark interest. We want to show a new generation that mold engineering is a hands-on career where creative problem-solving leads to real-world results.

Growing Our Own

Our most important strategy, however, happens inside our own walls. We actively cultivate what we call “integrated engineers.” This means we don’t want a designer who only knows software. We need a designer who has spent time on the shop floor, who understands how a mold is actually assembled and who knows what a machinist needs to see on a drawing to do their best work.

To make this happen, we have a structured cross-training initiative. New engineers, regardless of their degree, spend significant time with our toolmakers and machinists. They learn to run machines, see how steel is cut and understand how a design choice affects the build. In turn, our machinists learn design software basics to read plans better and suggest useful improvements.

This breakdown of barriers has a powerful effect. It creates a shared language. When a challenge comes up, the team can gather - designer, machinist and technician together - and solve it with a common understanding. A designer with shop floor experience will anticipate cooling line interference before the mold is ever cut. A machinist who understands design intent can suggest a more effective tool path. This collaboration shaves time off the build process and consistently leads to better-performing molds out of the gate.

The Result

This focus on training and integration does more than address a hiring shortage. It builds a resilient and deeply knowledgeable workforce. Our team members find their work more engaging because they understand how their piece fits into the whole. They develop a sense of ownership over the entire mold, not just their individual task.

For clients, this means a smoother process and a better product. Projects face fewer problems because a unified team spots and solves issues early. The finished mold is the result of shared knowledge and teamwork. This leads to a tool that works well right from the start.

At Liberty Molds, we view the skilled labor challenge as an opportunity to rethink how we build our team. We’re not just waiting for the future of mold engineering to arrive by investing in education and fostering cross-functional understanding. We’re actively building it, one student, one apprentice and one collaborative project at a time.