MSSC Fully Online Response to Coronavirusmar1
 
In response to the Coronavirus crisis, the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) has strengthened its capacity to offer a fully online learning and testing solution that will enable prospective certificants to secure MSSC certifications working at home.

Online Testing: Until now, most students had to take MSSC certification tests only at MSSC Authorized Assessment Centers.  MSSC has just contracted with a remote proctoring vendor, ProctorU. After May 15th, MSSC's Authorized Assessment Centers can place orders for their test takers to take assessments from their own home or remote location on their personal computers.

Online Courses: Until now, most courses were delivered in a classroom in a blended learning environment, i.e. part direct instructor training plus computer simulation-based e-learning under direct supervision by an instructor.  

MSSC has just sent guidance to all of its instructors on how to work with students online to mentor them through the fully online MSSC courses that they can take at home.
 
Online Instructor Training: Until now, most Certified Production Technician (CPT) Instructor training was delivered personally by a MSSC Master Trainer.  MSSC is now offering a CPT Instructor Training e-Package that candidate CPT Instructors can take at home online.
 
Benefits of Home Study NOW:  This is an ideal opportunity to secure MSSC's nationally portable industry certifications to take advantage of Coronavirus-related trends in both the manufacturing and distribution-logistics industries. 

In the manufacturing arena, the increasing fragility of the global supply chain will require a surge in domestic manufacturing and re-shoring. On the logistics side, the explosion of eCommerce will increase the demand for qualified workers in the distribution and fulfillment centers.
MSSC Team Follow Upmar2
 
Our team will be working diligently with each of our 2600 MSSC-trained instructors and 1700 assessment centers to provide detailed guidance on how to implement this Fully Online Response to Coronavirus.   

Given the increased workload, we are pleased to announce the addition of a new member to our team, Vincent Klingmeyer, Marketing Coordinator. Here are a few words from Vincent:

"I graduated from James Madison University in 2017 and have lived in Northern Virginia since then. I come from a military family, so I have lived in 6 states and two countries. I'm excited to join the MSSC Marketing team!"



Community News
Congratulations to this year's cohort of graduates from Madison Correctional!mar3
 
Corrected version of last month's edition

Last year our CEO, Neil Reddy, had the honor of speaking to the graduating class at an all women's correctional facility in Madison, IN through a partnership with Ivy Tech Community College-Madison. 
 
We would like to congratulate all of the cohorts at this facility that have earned our Certified Production Technician (CPT) certification and here is a testimonial from Instructor, Kevin Bradley, about the most recent graduating class:

"March 13, 2020 proved to be a very positive day as Cohort 7 from the Madison Correctional Facility, Madison, IN all successfully earned the MSSC Full CPT Certification. The program offered through Ivy Tech Community College-Madison is the first in the nation to be offered in a women's correctional facility. Overall class average for the full CPT certification tests was 93.45%.

Starting in 2018, Ivy Tech Community College-Madison has successfully offered and completed 7 MSSC CPT classes within the prison. Each class or cohort has 10 students for the 9 week program. Happily to report, to date 70/70 students within MCF have earned their full CPT as well as OSHA10 certification. While still incarcerated, many MSSC certificants eligible for work release have obtained employment in local manufacturing facilities. Others report that after release, the CPT Certification definitely has enhanced and helped with job searches.

These women have jumped through hoops and barrels just to get into this program. They have had to meet certain Math and Reading requirements. Besides being taught MSSC CPT they have had four principles instilled into them throughout the class. Those principles are drive, determination, ambition and perseverance and have proven to build self confidence...something that some of them have never had. 

These women are more than ready to enter the manufacturing workforce and to be successful."


Policy & Trends
Obviously, both federal and state policymakers must and are giving top priority to dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic. We report below a few other key policy directions that were underway before the crisis and that will hopefully be resumed in the future, taking into account experiences gained from this crisis.  
House Holds Hearing on National Apprenticeship Actmar6

The House Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee of the Education and Labor Committee hosted a hearing about "Reauthorizing the National Apprenticeship Act: Strengthening and Growing Apprenticeships for the 21st Century" on Wednesday March 4. 

The hearing emphasized the important role that apprenticeships play in supporting the needs of workers, employers and communities and the need to align apprenticeship programs with education pathways. The National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 aims to codify existing standards, as well as create new apprenticeship opportunities. 

Follow this link to read the full National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 discussion draft.
Article Shares Impact of Federal CTE Fundingmar7

In recognition of the end of CTE Month, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) wrote about the impact of CTE funding and put out a call to double the federal investment. This is especially appropriate given the Administration's proposal before the pandemic to increase CTE spending by $900 million. You can read the full article here.
Aligning to Opportunity: State Approaches to Setting High-Skill, High-Wage and In-Demandmar8

Perkins V places a strong emphasis on the alignment of CTE programs of study with state, regional and local economies. The legislation requires Perkins-funded programs to prepare students for "high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations." These terms - high skill, high wage and in demand - are foundational to Perkins V, appearing in both the purpose of the law and the definition of CTE.

A report issued by Advance CTE describes some approaches that states are taking to partner across agencies to access and review labor market information; develop definitions for high skill, high wage and in demand; provide local flexibility, while maintaining guardrails; and disseminate the information widely to key audiences. The report can be accessed via this link.
LinkedIn: Upskilling, reskilling revolution on the horizonmar9

There's an upskilling and reskilling revolution coming in the next three to five years, according to LinkedIn Learning's 2020 Workplace Learning Report released March 3. LinkedIn Learning found that 51% of learning and development (L&D) professionals surveyed plan to launch upskilling programs in 2020, and in the next decade, digital transformation and automation are expected to have a greater impact on the global workforce. The full report can be found here.
In this Issue

MSSC Updates


MSSC Team Follow Up

Community News

Congratulations to this year's cohort of graduates from Madison Correctional!

Policy & Trends

House Holds Hearing on National Apprenticeship Act