Key Takeaways from Our Latest Mastercam Education Webinar
The manufacturing industry continues to face a growing skills gap, making quality education, industry-aligned training, and accessible curriculum more important than ever.
During our recent webinar, Mastercam’s Senior Education Market Specialist, Clint Smith, joined Riva Caressa, Director of Sales at camInstructor, to discuss how educators can better prepare students for careers in CNC programming and manufacturing. They also introduced an exciting new partnership designed to make curriculum access easier than ever.
Supporting the Future Manufacturing Workforce
At Mastercam, helping educators prepare students for successful careers in manufacturing is a core focus. As the most widely used CAD/CAM software in manufacturing, Mastercam provides students with experience using the same tools they will encounter in industry, helping bridge the gap between classroom learning and workforce readiness.
During the webinar, Clint shared a variety of educational resources available to instructors and students, including:
- The Mastercam Educational Suite, which provides access to the same industrial-grade software used by manufacturers.
- Mastercam Learning Edition, a free version of Mastercam that students can use outside the classroom to continue developing their skills.
- Mastercam University, offers self-paced online courses covering topics such as 2D milling, 3D milling, and multiaxis machining.
- The Mastercam Educators Alliance, a growing community where educators can collaborate, exchange ideas, and stay informed about new opportunities and resources.
Addressing One of Education’s Biggest Challenges: Curriculum
Throughout the session, one challenge rose to the top: access to quality curriculum. Educators consistently report limited time and resources to develop comprehensive training materials from scratch.
This challenge inspired a new collaboration between Mastercam and camInstructor. “Collectively between Mastercam and camInstructor, we had a vision to deliver more ready-to-use curriculum for instructors,” explained Riva during the webinar.
Why Educators Turn to camInstructor
Built by educators with decades of teaching experience, camInstructor creates training materials specifically designed for technical education environments. Their instructional philosophy follows a simple but effective approach: Read. Watch. Do. Repeat if necessary.
The platform supports multiple learning styles by combining written instruction, video demonstrations, hands-on exercises, and practical application. Beyond Mastercam training, camInstructor offers curriculum covering CNC programming, setup and operation, and CAD software training.
One of the most valuable aspects for instructors is the extensive collection of classroom resources included with the curriculum, such as:
- Lesson plans with clearly defined objectives
- Editable PowerPoint presentations
- Pre-built Mastercam part files
- Additional exercises and practical tests
- Answer keys and assessment materials
- Student progress tracking and reporting tools
- Built-in quizzes and certification opportunities
According to educator feedback shared during the webinar, these resources significantly reduce class preparation time and allow instructors to spend more time working directly with students.
Introducing camInstructor 101
The highlight of the webinar was the introduction of camInstructor 101, a new no-cost curriculum offering available through the Mastercam CONNECT program. Developed jointly by Mastercam and camInstructor, the program was created to help educators quickly implement industry-relevant CNC programming instruction in their classrooms.
The online curriculum includes approximately 40 hours of content and features:
- Project-based Mastercam instruction
- 2D machining lessons
- Lathe programming content
- Dynamic Mill toolpaths
- Manual programming for milling and turning
- Machine setup and operation training
- Introductory 5-axis content
- Mastercam Design lessons, including a Tesla Cybertruck project
- A SkillsUSA 3-axis milling lesson featuring over 100 pages of instructional material and more than three hours of video content
Educators receive access to videos, PDFs, exercises, teacher resources, lesson plans, and classroom-ready materials designed to help accelerate implementation while maintaining flexibility for different program needs.
Who Is Eligible?
Currently, camInstructor 101 is available to U.S.-based educational institutions that maintain active Mastercam CONNECT licenses. Mastercam and camInstructor teams work directly with educators to verify eligibility and help them get started with the curriculum. Not a Mastercam CONNECT member? Reach out today to get started! Not a Mastercam CONNECT member? Reach out today to get started!
The offering can serve as a complete introductory Mastercam curriculum, supplement existing courses, or support shorter training programs and CNC boot camps.
Don’t Miss Our Upcoming Webinars
Mastercam continues to host educational webinars covering the latest software innovations, machining strategies, best practices, and training resources for educators, programmers, and manufacturers.
The passion educators bring to developing the next generation of CNC programmers is critical to the future of manufacturing, and we are proud to support those efforts with software, resources, training, and curriculum solutions.
Be sure to reserve your spot for future sessions by visiting our webinar hub.
