Manufacturing Institute Sets Training Goal

Responding to President Obama’s call for employers and community colleges to work together to connect students with jobs, The Manufacturing Institute and the National Association of Manufacturers have announced the goal of credentialing 500,000 community college students with skill certifications aligned to manufacturers’ hiring needs. The administration cited The Manufacturing Institute’s NAM-Endorsed Skills Certification System as a national solution and highlighted The Manufacturing Institute’s new partnership with the Skills for America’s Future initiative.

“In this highly competitive global market, our manufacturers’ business success is tied directly to their ability to innovate, and the single most important factor in their innovation capacity is an educated and skilled workforce,” says Emily Stover DeRocco, president of The Manufacturing Institute. “We know that most manufacturing jobs today require skills learned beyond high school, primarily in community colleges. And we now have a system of Manufacturing Skills Certifications—standards of learning—that are being integrated into community college programs of study.

Strong partnerships between manufacturers and community colleges to make these manufacturing credentials available nationwide supports the goal of providing 500,000 more skilled workers for the manufacturing industry within the next five years.

The Manufacturing Skills Certification System is managed by The Manufacturing Institute, the non-profit organization affiliated with the National Association of Manufacturers, the nation’s largest industrial trade association. Partners in the skills certification system include ACT, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the American Welding Society, the National Institute of Metalworking Skills, and the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council.