MSSC is proud to announce the launch on October 1, 2019 of a new hands-on training and certification program, The Certified Forklift Technician (CFT). The CFT is a nationally portable, industry-led, hands-on training and assessment certification program designed to prepare individuals with in-demand skills to maintain, service, and repair forklift vehicles.

MSSC has partnered with the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA), the nation's premier trade association for serving the business interests of the material handling industry. CFT is designed to respond to the industry's acute need for higher skilled maintenance and repair service technicians for forklift equipment.

Follow this link for more detailed information!

MSSC & ACT are excited to share with our community the "ACT Workforce Solutions & MSSC Fall Tour!" MSSC will be presenting alongside ACT discussing how we have partnered to provide a stackable certification model for next-generation careers in both Advanced Manufacturing and Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics. Here is a snapshot of where we have collaborated already and where you can catch us in the future!

• Stop 2- September 9-11, 2019, National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC) Annual Fall Conference: Panel discussion alongside ACT and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College on developing a reliable and sustainable supply chain for manufacturing employers' talent needs by linking and leveraging existing national and regional assets through collaboration. Including the importance and methodology for aligning and validating stackable high-quality credentials using nationally recognized methods.

• Stop 3- September 24, 2019 @ 1 pm EST, Leveraging National Certifications in Apprenticeship Webinar: Neil Reddy, CEO, MSSC joins the ACT hosted panel to discuss how work-based learning can provide individuals with credentials that offer clear labor market value.

• Stop 4- October 28-30th, ACT Workforce Summit in Charlotte, NC: ACT is assembling experts from business, education, workforce, and economic development looking to gain a competitive advantage in the race to produce a highly skilled workforce. Get the Inside Track to grow communities, sustain a robust workforce, and foster vibrant partnership at the 2019 ACT Workforce Summit.

• Stop 5- December 4-7th, Association for Career & Technical Education- CareerTech Vision 2019 Conference in Anaheim, CA: Participants will be provided with tools to identify quality, stackable credentials and how to incorporate them into a youth apprenticeship program.

• Stop 6- January 22-25th 2020, American Association of Community Colleges Workforce Development Institute Conference in Amelia Island, FL: More details coming soon!

Readers will recall that MSSC has played an active national leadership role in recent years in supporting the Coalition for Career Development (CCD), an industry-and gubernatorial-led national movement to make career readiness the first priority of American education.

CCD's vision is that ALL students secure productive employment in their chosen career pathway as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. Last July, MSSC Chair, Leo Reddy, who serves as Co-Chair of the CCD Founders Council, led a CCD Advisory Board delegation meeting with U.S. Education Secretary DeVos.

In September, CCD announced a second Summit on January 8, 2020, at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Washington, DC. Mark your calendar and follow this link for a copy of the CCD White Paper, 'Career Readiness for All'.

Dr. Jay Lee takes charge of Foxconn Project

Attendees at MSSC's June Annual Conference in Racine, WI will remember the highly informative remarks of Dr. Jay Lee, Foxconn's leading expert in Artificial Intelligence. We want to inform our community that subsequent to that meeting Dr. Lee is now a member of the Board of Directors of the Foxconn Board and has been designated as the Foxconn official with lead responsibility for the Foxconn plant project in Racine, WI.

Are your students being trained and certified on CPT+ and the MSSC Skill Boss hands-on training & assessment device? Want a chance to win a $500 Amazon Gift card for your class? Then keep reading for how your center can participate in the, "MSSC Back to School Skill Boss Photo Contest!"

We want to see photos of your students in action performing the over 55+ hands-on skills on the Skill Boss Device preparing them for the 21st century advanced manufacturing careers of the future! Follow this link for information on how to enter.

MSSC Center Stories- Ingram State Technical College

Check out this amazing testimonial from Ingram State Technical College about how they are utilizing industry recognized credentials, including MSSC, to help incarcerated students overcome barriers to employment.

"This is our first year offering MSSC certification," said Instructor Matt Poole, "and already our students have earned over 50 MSSC Certified Logistics Associate and Certified Logistics Technician credentials."

Click the link to read more!

Instructor Matt Poole distributes Certified Logistics Associate certificates to students enrolled in the logistics program at Ingram State Technical College. 

Student Spotlight- Rachel Stewart, CPT Certified Student, Creekside High School

Hard work does pay off and Rachel Stewart who is a CPT certified student from Creekside High School is the perfect example of that motto. Learn more about this star student from the staff testimonial below from Creekside highlighting Rachel's hard work and dedication:

"Creekside High School teaches and certifies students using the MSSC Certified Production Technician curriculum. We have a total of 16 students who have earned the CPT certification so far. We have another 15 who will be finishing next year and then about 30 the year after that.  We believe that the MSSC CPT curriculum prepares students for direct-to-work manufacturing careers. 

Additionally, CPT provides students going to engineering school a foundational level of understanding of the manufacturing environment. Rachel Stewart is one of those students. Rachel will be studying Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida.

Rachel passed all 4 of the MSSC Certified Production Technician tests and received the full CPT certification. She also has certifications in AutoCAD, Inventor, SolidWorks, Revit and OSHA.

Rachel will also be participating in Medtronic's WISE - Women in Science and Engineering - Internship Program this summer."

Congratulations Rachel, the MSSC team is cheering for you!

The Indiana Next Generation Manufacturing Competitiveness Center -- hosted by Purdue University in partnership with Ivy Tech Community College and Vincennes University -- is connecting students and manufacturers for summer internship opportunities. About 300 interns are expected to complete the program by the end of next summer. Listen to the program via this link.

The Manufacturing Institute and Toyota Motor North America announced a partnership to transition operation and stewardship of the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education program (FAME)-created by Toyota to develop skilled workers-to the MI. The FAME apprenticeship program focuses on teaching technical qualifications in advanced manufacturing, as well as helping students develop professional skills and a deeper understanding of the manufacturing industry.

Information on FAME can be found via their website.

Visit the The Manufacturing Institute website here.

Information and Guidance From OCTAE

OCTAE Assistant Secretary Scott Stump shared information and guidance with the State CTE Directors. The short videos and reading links provide information and insight to the states as they engage in the Perkins state plan development process. States are working hard on their plans and will be putting the final touches on them over the next couple of months.

Perkins V Video Series

Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment

• The skills that many students are receiving are not preparing them for the jobs that are available and in demand.

• The Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment empowers states and local partners to meet learners', educators', and employers' unique needs and promotes better alignment of CTE programs with state, regional, and local economic needs.

Middle School CTE

• Perkins V gave clear permission for states to include middle school in their Perkins supported talent development pipelines.

• Congress intentionally aligned Perkins V with the Every Student Succeeds Act, which defines the middle grades as any grades 5-8.

• Perkins V calls for states to provide career development activities through a framework that spans middle and high school.

Teacher Recruitment and Retention

• The Department's Teacher Shortage survey data tool reveals that 31 states are currently identifying a critical shortage of CTE educators.

• States are encouraged to rethink teacher licensure and certification policies.

• For more information on the Teacher Recruitment and Retention or other topics pertaining to Perkins V, please visit the Perkins Collaborative Resource Network (PCRN) via this link.

Study shows that students achieve the same success in college whether they focus on academic courses or career and technical education classes in high school. Students who took CTE courses were only slightly less likely to go to college, and the data shows that they earned 2% more per year for every upper-level CTE course they took, whether they attended college or not. See the study here.

The Department has also announced the availability of an additional $100 million for efforts to expand apprenticeships and close the skills gap.

Funding Opportunity Number: FOA-ETA-19-09

Funding Opportunity Title: Apprenticeships: Closing the Skills Gap

National Science Foundation: Advanced Technological Education

Due: October 3