The Career I Never Saw Coming 

By: Matt Smith, Vice President
Development & Strategic Partnerships

The first time I heard the word BioMechatronics, I figured it belonged in a science fiction movie, not on a college course schedule. 

Turns out, it’s one of the most important careers helping power Western Wake’s growing life sciences industry. 

I had never heard of it. My guess is many of you haven’t either. 

One of the things I enjoy most about my job is discovering careers I never knew existed. Every week, I find myself stopping and thinking, “I had no idea.” Best of all, many of those discoveries are happening right here in Western Wake. 

Once you start paying attention, you begin to see our community a little differently. Those big economic development announcements aren’t just about new buildings or new employers. They’re really stories about people, opportunity and the workforce that makes all of it possible. 

What I’ve come to appreciate is that the ribbon isn’t really the beginning of the story. It’s the ending. 

Think about the companies helping shape Western Wake today. Amgen. CSL Seqirus. Eli Lilly. FUJIFILM Biotechnologies. Genentech. Siemens, and many others. 

Every announcement deserves the attention it gets.

But I find myself thinking about something else. 

The people who will fill those buildings. 

Who’s going to do those jobs? 

The answer isn’t simply “more workers.” 

Today’s life sciences facilities rely on advanced automation, robotics and sophisticated equipment that must run safely around the clock. They need highly skilled technicians with expertise that didn’t exist when many of us were entering the workforce. 

That’s where BioMechatronics comes in. It’s a career most of us have probably never heard of, but it’s exactly the kind of expertise these companies need to keep their operations running safely every day. 

What really got my attention wasn’t the career itself. It was how the program came to be. The program wasn’t built first and then offered to employers. Employers helped build it from the very beginning. That’s workforce development at its best. 

It’s not about guessing. 

It’s about listening. 

And then building the future together. 

Recently, I met one of the students in the program. She admitted she had never heard the word “BioMechatronics” before coming to Wake Tech. Today, she’s learning to maintain the sophisticated systems that keep a biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility running every day. It reminded me how quickly “I didn’t know that career existed” can become “I can’t imagine doing anything else.” 

That also changed the way I think about apprenticeships. 

Like many people, I used to associate apprenticeships with electricians, plumbers and other skilled trades. Those careers remain incredibly important, but today’s apprenticeships have expanded into fields many of us never imagined. 

Biotechnology is one example. Cybersecurity is another. Add advanced manufacturing, healthcare, information technology and artificial intelligence, and you quickly realize today’s apprenticeships look very different than they did a generation ago. 

One thing I wish more people knew is that these opportunities aren’t just for recent high school graduates or traditional college students. They’re for our neighbors at every stage of life, whether they’re starting a career, changing careers or building new skills. Thanks to Wake County’s commitment to workforce development, tuition for many of these apprenticeship programs is free, making it easier than ever to take that first step. 

Here’s another example. 

Wake Tech and the Wake County Public School System recently launched the WakeWorks® Youth Apprenticeship Academy, thanks to a $4 million investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies. High school juniors and seniors will have the opportunity to earn college credit while exploring careers in construction, electrical, HVAC, automotive technology, welding and other high-demand skilled trades before they even graduate. 

I don’t know about you, but I would have loved an opportunity like that when I was sixteen. 

The more I learn about programs like these, the more I realize workforce development isn’t really about jobs. 

It’s about possibilities. 

It’s about helping someone discover a career they never knew existed. 

It’s about giving employers the confidence to invest here because they know talented people are being prepared right here at home. 

Most of us see the finished building. 

I’ll remember the conversations that happened long before the ribbon was ever ordered. 

The employer explaining a workforce challenge. 

The educator asking questions. 

The student discovering a future they never expected. 

I still slow down a little when I say “BioMechatronics.” Maybe that’s because the word reminds me that some of the most interesting opportunities in Western Wake are the ones most of us never saw coming. 

Every ribbon cutting tells us where Western Wake is headed. 

The students preparing for those jobs tell us how we’ll get there. 

And if you ask me, that’s the most unexpected story of all.