America’s Got (Manufacturing) Talent!

MSSC
Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons (in the public domain)

The Manufacturing Skills Standard Council has worked for many years to develop programs aimed at promoting a new generation of manufacturing workers. Now it has been awarded the “Best US National Program” for workforce development by the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council.

The GLMC chose MSSC for it’s innovative approach to developing core competencies of high skilled production workers within the manufacturing talent pool in the region, which includes eight Great Lakes states and two Canadian provinces.

Providing Training for Manufacturing 

The MSSC — which is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia — is a non-profit training and certification program that focuses on developing the skills of the nation’s front line production and material handling workers. Its Certified Production Technician and Certified Logistics Technician programs are used at universities and trade schools through the US.

The MSSC program features five production modules and has produced more than 40,000 CPTs, with more than half currently working in the Great Lakes region, according to a GLMC news  release.

The award was presented as part of the GLMC’s “Talented Workplace Initiative” during a June 12 ceremony at Cobo Hall, in Detroit. The program aims at improving the critical workforce shortage that threatens manufacturers and communities in the Great Lakes region.

Maintaining the Great Lakes’ Manufacturing Legacy

Training programs like MSSC are recognized for identifying America’s best manufacturing talent.

“Characteristics of the successful and promising initiatives included their ability to recruit or attract talented workers, train or educate  new workers, retrain incumbent workers, and retrain displaced workers,” the GLMC said.

Educators from universities and trade schools that use the MSSC program were quick to heap on praise after the award was announced.

Thomas J. Snyder, president of Indiana’s Ivy Tech, said MSSC deserves the recognition it is receiving.

“The Manufacturing Skill Standards Certification is a highly-regarded, industry-recognized and valuable career asset for Hoosiers seeking to enter and advance with the major local manufacturing companies,” Snyder told Modern Materials Handling. “The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council award recognizes MSSC’s leadership and proactive engagement with Ivy Tech as a key success partner.”

“The unique Benchmark for  Talented Workforce initiative combines flexible training programs and industry-recognized certification with employer networks,  linked employment opportunities and support resources that will  certainly advance the Midwest as the ‘Center of the Universe’ for competitive manufacturing, technology and logistics initiatives,” Snyder said.

Real Skills for Real Jobs

Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Area Community College’s Daniel Wagner said the MSSC’s program has helped real workers learn real skills so they can get real jobs.

“HACC has used the CPT’s Quality Practices and Measurement to build the skills of students in a wide range of training, from welding to CNC machining,” Wagner said. “The CLA module is used to enhance the hands-on training students receive in our logistics technician course. The skills and certification provided by this training help the students gain employment.”

Sherman Johnson, executive director of Ivy Tech’s Corporate College and chairman of the GLMC workforce group, said programs like MSSC’s were essential for keeping the Great Region relevant to the global manufacturing community.

“Skilled workers build this manufacturing economy in the Great Lakes, one of the most productive and innovative in the world,” Johnson said. “Our region’s global leadership position will hinge on our ability to recruit and develop the very best talent for the bi-national manufacturing workforce. This Council initiative will help everyone in our region identify innovative and productive approaches that we can all learn from and implement.”