Training people for manufacturing jobs

For the first time in Mary Lamar's life-- (SINGING) Baby--

--she's driving a new car to a job she loves. It was a bit of a rough journey. It was. I was in prison. I did 3 and 1/2 years for something that I never saw coming. So what's it like-- The Cleveland native slipped into a life of crime at a young age, eventually serving time for robbery when she was 50 years old. I chose a different lifestyle, and drugs and alcohol is in my story.

Now 56, Lamar is a first-time homeowner and supervisor at her job, where she leads a team of machinists. Your recovery is what matters, and you have to have that support.

Support she found at Magnet-- Tell me a little bit about yourself.

--an Ohio-based nonprofit that helped retool her life. Its goal is to educate and engage people on the available careers in manufacturing, in part to help fill more than 400,000 jobs in that sector. These are good salaries. These are good careers.

Magnet offers year-round career classes for adults who are un- or underemployed-- Everyone grab a handle.

--and for students, summer camps, field trips, and apprenticeships, all free thanks to grants and donations. When they see the machines, their eyes light up.

Magnet CEO Ethan Karp wants to fill factory jobs by polishing America's Rust Belt workers. We can't just say, hey, pick yourself up by your bootstraps. We can't say that. You need the grit and determination to do that, full stop, but you also need some help.

But they do more than just give folks a pair of bootstraps. If somebody doesn't have childcare, if health care is an issue, if transportation is, if crime is, all of those things affect their ability to get a job. That's what we're trying to remove with access and give people the wraparound support to overcome all of those barriers.

One of Magnet's workforce partners is Talan Products, where they stamp specialty metal parts and have added 40 jobs in the last year. Adam Snyder is the COO and Mary Lamar's boss. What does made in America look like today? There's a lot more manufacturing that we would love to have here. It's going to take a little time to build the workforce. What advice would you give people? Be open. Be fearless. Take a chance. Be honest. You can be successful at any stage of your life. I'm proof.

Proof that a can-do attitude, along with a little support, can still help achieve the American dream. (SINGING) What about-- what about--

For Eye on America, I'm Ian Lee in Cleveland, Ohio. Unfortunately, though, there's a tragic footnote to this story. A short time after we met Mary Lamar, a fire destroyed her house and killed her partner of 18 years. Lamar was able to jump to safety but was seriously hurt. Magnet and her employer, Talan, have set up a GoFundMe for her. We wish her the best.