MSSC Chair Addresses World Manufacturing Forum Oct1

The World Manufacturing Forum invited Leo Reddy, MSSC Chair, to address its Annual Conference, September 26-27, with 1000+ attendees at Lake Como Italy, on strategies for closing the skills gap. Paul Perkins, President of Amatrol, accompanied Reddy to this WMF conference. 

Reddy focused on the U.S. effort, starting with the federal National Skill Standards Act in the mid-1990's, (a) to use national standards to help industry speak with one voice to education about its skills needs, (b) to update those standards biennially to ensure that they are keeping pace with technological change; and (c) the importance of work-based learning, such as internships and apprenticeships. 

He also underlined the value of leveraging state-of-the-art, cost-effective technician training equipment, such as the hands-on "Skill Boss" device invented by Amatrol to enhance the MSSC Certified Production Technician (CPT) training and certification program. Follow this link for more information about this innovative device.


MSSC Panel at MEP Summit Oct2

At the invitation of the federal Manufacturing Extension Partnership, MSSC Chair, Leo Reddy, joined MEP Directors from AL and NJ on a panel at the MEP Summit in Atlanta in September. Drawing from the experiences of various MEP's in using MSSC Certification programs, they identified options for state MEP's to use MSSC to meet the acute skill needs of the nation's some 250,000 manufacturing firms (fewer than 500 employees) served by the MEP program. These included MSSC apprenticeships, expanded services for incumbent front-line production workers, and use of a diagnostic tool for experienced workers.
Reddy and Moser Address IEDC Annual ConferenceOct3

Leo Reddy joined Harry Moser, President of the Reshoring Initiative, in addressing the annual International Economic Development Conference in Indianapolis, Oct. 12-15. They noted that the "Site Selection Magazine" survey, published in 2019, reported (a) that the "availability of a skilled workforce" had moved up from the No. 3 position to No. 1 position in a list of factors influencing company decisions on where to locate their plants and (b) that Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics were now the No. 1 and No. 3 preferred industry sectors for economic development. 

Reddy showed the close alignment between these site selection criteria and the MSSC training and certification programs. For his crosswalk between the two, see the attached two slides from his remarks at the IEDC.
MSSC CEO Speaks at Credentials SummitOct4

This Summit, hosted by ACTE and NOCTI, took place in early October in Raleigh, NC, with MSSC's CEO, Neil Reddy, serving as one of the speakers. Manufacturers from the auto, robotics, and aerospace industry shared how their partnerships with education, in-house training, and certification have provided a skilled workforce. Creating a "smart city" was shared by partners from Racine, WI including the technical college, industry, and the Raleigh Mayor. Three foundations recently donated CPT+ Skill Boss packages to Racine high schools to help strengthen workforce upskilling there in preparation for the new Foxconn plant in the Racine area.
Ashley Furniture Joins MSSC BoardOct5

We are pleased to report that the MSSC Board just voted Wanda Cartrette, Senior Manager of Advanced Technology Maker Center and Mobile Skills Lab at Ashley Furniture, onto the Board.

With 30 years of manufacturing and continuous improvement experience, Wanda received the prestigious STEP Ahead Award from the Manufacturing Institute in 2017 for her continuous leadership in advanced manufacturing and was recognized as Ashley Furniture's Chairman of the Board award recipient. She has played a key role in the remarkable growth of Ashley, now with 22,000 employees, to become the world leader in furniture e-commerce.

 
MSSC Adds New Senior Manager for Product DevelopmentOct6

MSSC is pleased to announce the appointment of Bruce Dickson to a new position of Senior Manager, Product Development, on the MSSC headquarters staff. Dickson has had a dynamic management career leading production and operational efforts in high-paced manufacturing environments, especially in the automotive sector. His career has spanned nearly 40 years. 

Deeply familiar with MSSC, Bruce is also one of our most experienced Certified Production Technician (CPT) Instructors and a member of the MSSC Select Committee on Emerging Manufacturing Process Technologies.  


SPECIAL FEATURE! 2020 National Career Development Summit  Oct7

As the MSSC Community is aware, MSSC is playing an active national leadership role in promoting an industry- and gubernatorial-led movement to make Career Readiness for All the first priority of American education. To participate in this movement and add your own experience and ideas, please attend the CCD Annual Summit on Jan. 8, 2020, at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown DC by registering here.
Community News
Labor Secretary Scalia visits Community Learning Center in Ft. WorthOct8

U.S. Secretary of Labor, Eugene Scalia, visited the Community Learning Center (CLC, Inc.) on October 17, 2019 in Forest Hill, Texas. For the last 20 years, CLC, Inc., a Technical School, has been providing skills training and placement in high growth and high demand occupations in the Aerospace, Advanced Manufacturing, and Logistics Industries in the North Central Texas Region.

During his visit, Secretary Scalia, toured the CLC, Inc. training facility where skills training opportunities are offered to Veterans and other civilians who are faced with barriers to employment. Secretary Scalia spoke to students and staff in welding, CNC/machining, construction, and logistics (MSSC CLA/CLT). All of these training opportunities lead to Nationally Recognized Credentials. Pat Lane, President of CLC, Inc. and Angela Traiforos, Executive Director, are members of the MSSC Leadership Council.


MSSC Strategic Partner Corner- ACT Workforce SummitOct9

Will you be at the ACT Workforce Summit in Charlotte, NC !? If you are, make sure you attend the work-based lear n ing panel on Oct. 29 from 9:45-10:30 AM.  Our CEO, Neil Reddy, will be presenting on this panel with Cindy Hill, Ph.D., Principal Industrial/Organizational Psychologist, ACT and Andy Hepburn, Chief Innovation Officer, GPS Education Partners on work-based learning models for youth that leverage certifications. Here is the description of the session below:

Industry-specific career pathway education models should provide students with the opportunity to both learn and earn by acquiring shorter term credentials with clear labor market value. Participants will be provided with tools to identify quality, stackable credentials and how to incorporate them into a youth apprenticeship program.

This session will highlight strategies for making the overwhelming number of credentialing options more navigable and valuable to learners, employers, and educational stakeholders. We also will explore how credentials embedded in work-based learning programming supports both improved performance on credentials and validates readiness.

There is still time to register! Follow this link for more information!


Policy & Trends
Bipartisan Support for Including Apprenticeship, Industry Certifications in Fed Financial AssistanceOct10

On October 15, the House Committee on Education and Labor introduced the College Affordability Act   (H.R. 4674) , the House Democrats' long-awaited legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA). 

This legislation authorizes the federal government to provide grants, loans, and other financial assistance to students seeking education and training. A major goal of this HEA update is to treat industry apprenticeships, credentials, and certifications, as equal to two- and four-year degrees when providing financial support from Washington. There is some level of bipartisan interest in passing this in both the House and Senate in November.
New Report on Career and Technical Education by LocaleOct11

The National Center for Education Statistics Data Point,
Career and Technical Education Coursetaking in 2013, by Locale, examines CTE coursetaking among public school graduates from city, suburban, town, and rural high schools.  Public high school graduates from towns and rural areas earn more credits in career and technical education (CTE) than do graduates from cities and suburban areas. One key finding is that graduates from towns earned more credits in
engineering, design, and production than graduates from cities and suburbs. View the full report here.
National Apprenticeship Week - November 11-17, 2019Oct12

National Apprenticeship Week is a nationwide celebration established by the U.S. Department of Labor that brings together leaders in business, labor, educational institutions, and Americans interested in apprenticeships to showcase the positive impact apprenticeship programs have on addressing the U.S. skills gap and preparing the American workforce for the jobs of today and tomorrow. 

Join the celebration by hosting an event - such as an apprenticeship graduation, business open house, high school career fair, skills competition, or industry roundtable - or submitting a proclamation supporting NAW and apprenticeship. For information on the two MSSC-related Apprenticeship Programs follow this link .
New Interactive Data Story on Career Technical Education in High School Oct13

The U.S. Department of Education  released a new interactive Career Technical Education (CTE) data story, " Bridging the Skills Gap: Career and Technical Education in High School ." The data examines CTE participation in high schools and student outcomes. Some of the data findings include: 
  • 77% of high school students earn at least one CTE credit
  • About 75% of public school districts that have CTE programs offer CTE courses that grant dual credit
  • High school students who are CTE concentrators have a higher graduate rate than non-CTE concentrators
  • High school students who are CTE concentrators participate in post-secondary education within eight years of high school graduation at a higher rate than non-CTE concentrators.
Check out the full report via this link.
NSBA Publishes Article on CTE PartnershipsOct14
 
The National School Boards Association published an article in October on CTE and business partnerships entitled
Come Together - School and Business Partnerships are Key to CTE. It has always been a challenge to build meaningful partnerships between schools and businesses. The article shares components and examples of engaging education-business partnerships.  Click here for the full article.  
State Boards of Education focuses on CTE Oct15

The National Association of State Boards of Education dedicated their September monthly journal to CTE.
The Opportunities and Challenges of Getting Students Career Ready explores the issues and practices that will increase the number of students prepared for careers and the workplace. State Boards of Education have critical roles in approving and funding career and technical programs at all levels. While each state board's authority may vary, this provides this body with a background for their policy development. Follow this link for more information.
In this Issue

MSSC Updates


Community News


Policy & Trends