Eleven days. Two industrial machines. The operator you were hired to become.
No prior CNC experience required.
You need a laptop for this course.
The GDX Academy CNC Router Intensive Operator Course is our flagship operator program — a full-time, hands-on course that takes you from first principles to confident, production-ready operation on both a manual CNC router and an Automatic Tool Changer.
What you'll be doing by Day 4: running your first real cut.
In under two weeks, you'll go from never touching a CNC to setting one up, running it, and producing real furniture components. Three classroom days give you the safety rules, the drawings and the software first; on Day 4 you walk onto the factory floor and make your first cut. Most of our trainees arrive nervous. Most of them leave confident. The machine is not the obstacle most people think it is — it just needs the right eleven days.
You won't finish this course with clean hands.
You will spend most of your time on the machine. This is not a lecture series. It is not a YouTube playlist. It is eleven days of training — mostly on the factory floor — on two production-grade CNC routers, under the supervision of facilitators who run these machines for a living. You will make cuts. You will make mistakes. You will make better cuts because of the mistakes.
Foundation first. Automation second. In that order, always.
Most CNC training programs teach one machine and hope the skill transfers. Ours is built around two — because the jump from a manual router to an Automatic Tool Changer is where real operator judgement is either built or faked.
WOODMETAL 2130A (NK105G2 controller)
Our foundation machine. 4.5 kW spindle, manual tool change, 2100 × 3000 mm T-slot worktable. Manual clamping, manual origin setting, single-tool work. The NK105G2 rewards setup discipline. It forces you to slow down and internalise what a good setup looks like before you're ever tempted to rely on automation.
WOODMETAL 2130XC (Syntec 4-Axis ATC)
Our production machine. 9 kW automatic tool changer (ATC) spindle, 12-position tool magazine, 2100 × 3000 mm vacuum worktable. Automation layered on top of a solid manual foundation produces a thoughtful operator. Automation layered on top of nothing produces a dangerous one.
Your eleven days, start to finish.
Three days in the classroom, seven on the factory floor, one for assessment. No concept is taught in the classroom unless it will be put to work on the machine.
- Day 1Mon 9 Nov · ClassroomFoundations & Safety
How a panel furniture factory works, what a CNC router is and does, PPE and the safety rules of the floor. Safety induction and sign-off — your pass onto the factory floor.
- Day 2Tue 10 Nov · ClassroomDrawings, Materials & CAD
Read furniture drawings and cutting lists; measurement and tolerances; board materials (MDF, particle board, plywood, veneered and solid wood); draw parts in Vectric and ArtCAM on your laptop.
- Day 3Wed 11 Nov · ClassroomTooling, Toolpaths & G-code
Choose the right cutter, feeds and speeds; build profile, pocket and drilling toolpaths; nest parts for yield; simulate and post G-code. You leave with your own job file for Day 4, and sit a short knowledge check.
- Day 4Thu 12 Nov · FactoryFirst Cuts — WOODMETAL 2130A
Power-up, homing, clamping, setting X/Y/Z origin, air cut, then your first live cut of your own job. Setup discipline over speed.
- Day 5Fri 13 Nov · FactoryManual Router Mastery
Manual tool changes, multi-operation jobs, repeat setups against the clock, and checking every part you cut.
- Day 6Sat 14 Nov · FactoryAutomatic Tool Changer — WOODMETAL 2130XC (Syntec 4-Axis ATC)
Tool library, automatic tool calibration, vacuum-table zoning, and a nested multi-tool job on the ATC router.
- Day 7Mon 16 Nov · FactoryNesting, Yield & Materials
Full-sheet nested jobs, tabs and part labelling, cutting veneered and solid-wood panels, and tracking material yield.
- Day 8Tue 17 Nov · FactoryMaintenance & Troubleshooting
Daily and weekly checks, lubrication, spindle warm-up, compressed air and dust extraction, and a step-by-step way to find and fix common faults.
- Day 9Wed 18 Nov · FactoryProduction Run
A real cutting-list order run across both routers as a production team — from file to finished, labelled parts.
- Day 10Thu 19 Nov · FactoryQuality, Efficiency & Mock Assessment
Measuring and inspecting parts, rework vs scrap, cycle time and yield; then a full practice run of the final assessment with individual feedback.
- Day 11Fri 20 Nov · FactoryAssessment & Sign-out
Individual practical assessment on the machine, debrief, certificates and closing ceremony (ends 15:00).
Every trainee completes a full setup-to-part cycle on both machines before the course ends.
Serious operators. Serious employers. Serious beginners.
Whose employers are investing in CNC capability and need their team trained the right way, the first time.
Who've bought (or plan to buy) a CNC router and refuse to learn it by trial and error on a machine that cost more than their first car.
Who want a real, employable skill in one of the fastest-growing segments of African manufacturing — and a credential employers recognise.
Earned, not issued.
Certification is based on performance, not attendance.
On the final day (Day 11), every trainee sits an individual practical assessment — unassisted setup, unassisted run, on the machine, with the facilitator observing. You're scored on four areas: Safety & Floor Awareness, Setup Discipline, Job Execution, and Finishing & Communication. Pass the assessment and you receive the GDX Academy Certificate of Completion.
The GDX Academy Certificate of Completion is awarded only on passing the individual practical assessment.Trainees who don't meet the assessment bar receive specific written feedback and priority access to the 4-week post-training Saturday program — supervised machine time to close the gap and be re-assessed.
Training continues for 4 weeks after the program.
Most training ends after the last day. Ours doesn't. Every graduate receives two hours of supervised machine time on each of the four Saturdays after the course. You work in pairs, on a booked slot, with a qualified facilitator on the floor for safety. Bring your own job or pick from our library of graded exercises.
We don't just train you and disappear.
Certified graduates are eligible for active placement support. We introduce certified graduates to furniture factories, workshops and fit-out companies in the GDX network — including businesses that run machines supplied and serviced by GDX. We share your profile, introduce you where the fit is right, and follow up after placement. We won't promise you a job.
Course details.
- Tuition
- ₦600,000 — all-inclusive (training, materials, PPE, lunch, assessment, certificate, and 4 Saturdays of supervised machine access)
- Payment
- Full payment is required to register — no instalments. After you apply, admissions sends payment details. Corporate or bulk applications: contact us for a volume discount. Employer invoicing is available.
- Duration
- 11 days, full-time · ~74 contact hours · 70% practical, 30% theory
- Cohort Dates
- 9 – 20 November 2026 (Mon–Sat; Saturday 14 Nov included, Sunday off)
- Daily Schedule
- Days 1–10: 08:30 – 16:30 · Day 11: 08:30 – 15:00 · Lunch and two breaks daily
- Cohort Size
- Maximum 12 trainees — we will not exceed this. The cohort runs once 8 trainees have paid by Friday 30 October 2026 (see refund policy).
- Location
- GDX Academy, No. 2 Oke Street (68 Ayantuga Street), Mushin, Lagos
- Prerequisites
- Basic literacy and numeracy. No prior CNC experience required.
- What to Bring
- You need a laptop for this course: a working Windows laptop for classroom CAD/CAM sessions. PPE is provided. Safety boots are not required.
- Accommodation
- Not provided. Out-of-town trainees arrange their own. Ask admissions for a guesthouse list.
More than a certificate.
- Set up, operate, and troubleshoot a manual CNC router and an ATC CNC router unaided
- Working knowledge of Vectric and ArtCAM (profile, pocket, drilling, nested toolpaths)
- Practical experience producing real components to factory tolerances
- Basic preventive maintenance, fault-finding and quality inspection on both machines
- A competency-based GDX Academy certificate with a unique verification code
- Four weeks of supervised Saturday machine access to reinforce the skill
- Eligibility for active placement support into our employer network
- Muscle memory — the thing that outlasts the certificate
Questions, answered honestly.
The best operators were made, not born. Start making yours.
Applications for Cohort 01 close on Thursday 29 October 2026, or earlier if all 12 seats are filled. For later cohorts: applications close 11 days before the start date.