The annual two-day MSSC Executive Leadership and Briefing meeting is held in states and regions that have played a vital role in the development of credentialing tomorrow's workforce. Our meetings have taken us from the East Coast to the West Coast, but this year we decided to take a trip to Racine Wisconsin, site of the prospective 13,000-worker Foxconn production site.

Day one started with the gathering of members of the MSSC community from a variety of individuals that serve on our Board of Directors, Leadership Council, Training Solution Providers, Senior Advisors and more. We are pleased to welcome our new Board Members:

• Paul Aiello, Executive Director of Education, FANUC America Corporation
• Mike Rogers, Senior Director of Maintenance and Refrigeration, Tyson Foods, Inc.
• Tristian Kanwar, Vice President, Operations & Engineering Services, Rockwell Automation

Also, our new Leadership Council Members:

• Liz Richards, CEO, Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association
• David Suess, Founder & CEO, Competitive Workforce Coalition of Canada
• Marla Robinson, Faculty/Program Coordinator, Mohawk College, Canada
• Cindy Hill, Ph.D., Principal Industrial/Organizational Psychologist, ACT

We are looking forward to their expertise in the field and the knowledge they will provide to our growing community.

 

Our "Executive Briefing: Focus on Wisconsin," kicked off with a reception which included influential speakers from the state of Wisconsin, starting with Nick Pinchuk, eloquent Chairman & CEO, Snap-on Incorporated. A couple of key quotes from his remarks are provided below:

"It makes me sad that people would think the American workforce is in question. It's clear, the American workforce is not the question, the American workforce is the answer."

"I see no path to ongoing prosperity without upskilling the American workforce, and you and the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council are integral to delivering on this national priority."

 

Other speakers that evening included Peter Barca, Secretary, WI Department of Revenue and Morna Foy, President WI Technical College System. Their motivational words set the tone for the next day's continuation of the Executive Briefing at Racine Campus of Gateway Technical College (GTC).

 

Dr. Bryan Albrecht, CEO and President, GTC, welcomed attendees to the June 5^th portion of the Executive Briefing. This gathering of senior representatives from industry, government, and education offered a chance to exchange information on mutually reinforcing local and national initiatives.

This was also the perfect setting to showcase our new CPT+ Skill Boss video, check it out here!

Mayor Cory Mason shared the vision of Racine's Smart City Smart Future Initiative and the sustainability goals and milestones they have reached as a community.

Jenny Trick, Executive Director, Racine County Economic Development Corporation, informed attendees about how Foxconn has changed Racine and Wisconn Valley.

Jim Ladwig, Director Global Community Affairs, SC Johnson Fund; Mary "Penny" Enroth, Chair, The Palmer Foundation; Kris Gengler, Public Relations- Education Foundation, Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc.; Erica Case, HR Director- WI Manufacturing, Harley Davidson Foundation; Moderator- Dr. Jennifer Charpentier, Executive Director, GTC Foundation provided a unique perspective to attendees in understanding the role of foundations and how they can become a major part of the conversation around resources needed to upskill the manufacturing workforce.

Ray Koukari, Dean, Gateway Technical College and Matt Kirchner, President Lab Midwest and MSSC Training Solution Provider reported on how GTC is responding to state and local workforce needs specifically for the much-anticipated Foxconn developments.

Ron Painter, CEO, National Association of Workforce Boards; Alan Ott, District Director- WI Office for Congressman Glenn Grothman; and Jan Bray, President, Bray Strategies provided a bird's eye view from the federal level on funding for workforce skills development.

Gardner Carrick, VP of Strategic Initiatives, The Manufacturing Institute, National Association of Manufacturers discussed the national impact of the "Heroes Make America" program with introductions by Michael Packer, Director of Manufacturing, Advanced Production Programs, Lockheed Martin.

Switching gears into the luncheon, we were honored to have Dr. Jay Lee, Vice Chairman, Foxconn & Founding Director of Industrial Artificial Intelligence, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen speak. Attendees had the chance to learn about how Foxconn is leading the way for the technological advancements in manufacturing, not only for the state of Wisconsin, but internationally as well. For the media coverage on Dr. Jay Lee's remarks  follow this link . 

 

Another exciting development just in is that Dr. Jay Lee has been named to Foxconn's 9-member leadership committee which will nominate a successor to Mr. Terry Gou, Foxconn CEO, who is running for President of Taiwan.

Follow this link for the full article. 

MSSC CEO, Neil Reddy, had the honor of bestowing the annual MSSC Outstanding Achievement Award on CPT Certificant, Roy Baker. Roy was born and raised in Chicago, IL. He has an impressive background with a Bachelors Degree in Psychology, Minor in Sociology as well as being a registered electrician with a HVAC certification. Roy earned the Full MSSC Certified Production Technician (CPT) & Green Production Credential while being incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Oxford. His CPT Certification helped Roy secure a technician position at Caterpillar, Inc. in Peoria, IL. 

"Roy Baker was an exceptional CPT student who was always willing to assist others in the classroom. He was hired as a tutor after receiving his Full CPT certification. His knowledge of the manufacturing world was an asset in my classroom." -Tim Frank, Apprenticeship Coordinator/ MSSC CPT Instructor, Federal Correctional Institution- Oxford, WI

Attendees gave Roy a standing ovation. Congratulations Roy, keep up the amazing work!

Our breakouts this year were focused on four key topic areas:

Industry 4.0 Lab Demo- Paul Perkins, President, Amatrol; Matt Kirchner, President, Lab Midwest; and Paul Aiello, Executive Director, CERT Education, FANUC America Corporation demo'd the next generation hands-on CPT+ "Skill Boss" equipment.

GPS Education Partners- Stephanie Borowski, President/CEO, GPS Education Partners described this highly successful WI-based education initiative built on the MSSC Certified Production Technician (CPT) Certification. Attendees also had a chance to hear from students that have experienced the benefits of their program firsthand.

Mobile Skills Training- Mike Beighley, Superintendent of Schools, Whitehall School District presented on how Ashley Furniture, a global leader in furniture manufacturing, is partnering with school districts in the Northwest region of Wisconsin to develop a mobile learning lab focused on Industry 4.0 advanced manufacturing.

Corrections Education- Neil Reddy, CEO, MSSC and Amy Kangas, Reentry Affairs Coordinator, Federal Bureau of Prisons- FCI-Oxford and Outstanding Achievement Award Winner, Roy Baker described the MSSC pre-release programs in 25 states including an example of a successful program at FCI Oxford.

"National group selects Gateway for summit on advanced manufacturing"- The Journal Times

"National Group Selects Gateway to Hold Event, Talk Advanced Manufacturing"- Racine County Eye

"Gateway conference: The future is now with artificial intelligence"- Kenosha News