How has the manufacturing industry changed over the last decade or two---and how have those changes affected the skill levels required of manufacturing employees?

Even in these difficult economic times manufacturing remains – today – the bedrock of American business.  Upon its shoulders we became the world’s leading economic power and we are the world’s leading producer of manufactured goods.  The U.S. manufacturing sector also leads in innovation, accounting for more than 70 percent of private sector research and development.  In the last few decades, modern manufacturing has changed significantly, largely due to the convergence of technology and manufacturing and the forces of globalization.

The integration of technology into manufacturing processes–from product design to distribution–has dramatically increased the level of basic academic and technology-based skills needed by the manufacturing workforce.  There are no jobs in modern manufacturing for uneducated, unskilled workers.  A skilled workforce is essential to manufacturers’ ability to compete in the global economy.

What are the biggest challenges facing the United States manufacturing workforce now and in the future?

All now agree that talented people are a company’s greatest asset.  A high-performance workforce results in a strong and growing business that can drive product innovation and produce high-quality products at competitive costs.

Yet, we are now dealing with the most dramatic workforce crisis of our history.  The retirement of the “boomer” generation over the next few years is costing us the experience and knowledge that lifted manufacturing to be the most productive sector in the U.S. and the world.

As a nation, we have not reformed the education and training systems necessary to deliver the right number of workers with the right skill sets for the long term.  Our capacity to recruit, teach and train the new workforce is inadequate and misaligned with the jobs of today and tomorrow.  We lack clear education pathways for students, and our schools – high schools in particular – are failing to engage and retain young people.  Additionally, students, as well as workers, lack a system to verify and credential learned skills.  The NAM system will serve secondary and post-secondary students and workers advancing in their careers or transitioning to new employment opportunities in high-tech manufacturing.

How will the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System help to meet and overcome those challenges?

By deploying the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System—which focuses on core or basic skills required for success in entry-level jobs across all sectors in manufacturing—we can align industry-recognized skills certifications with both career and educational pathways for students, thus building the pipeline of qualified workers for the manufacturing economy.

What is the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System?

The NAM–Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System is built upon the framework of skills and competencies identified by manufacturers, for manufacturers.  The first release of the NAM system focuses on core or basic personal effectiveness skills, academic competencies, general workplace skills, and industry-wide technical skills required by employers in all sectors of manufacturing.

To assure workers have the basic academic and general workplace skills, the NAM system is grounded on the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate.  The certificate will assure manufacturers that individuals who choose to enter the workforce immediately after high school or post-secondary education have the core academic and workplace competencies for employment.

Entry-level manufacturing careers across all sectors require foundational competencies in health and safety, quality assurance and continual improvement, manufacturing process, development and design, and production and supply chain logistics.  The NAM system includes:  for entry level production workers, the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council’s Certified Production Technician (CPT); for metal-working, the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) machining and metalforming credentials; and for welding, the American Welding Society’s Certified Welder credentials.

To meet our national need for the next generation of practitioners, the NAM system incorporates the certification programs of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

Why deploy the NAM-Endorsed Skills Certification System?

Even in tough economic times, manufacturers report they cannot find workers with the right skills, at the right time, to remain competitive.  Manufacturers need a consistent means of validating the knowledge and skills an applicant and/or employee possesses, since talent is the most important driver of business success.

The partnership between The Manufacturing Institute and nationally-recognized certification partners is critically important to begin addressing this workforce crisis.  By deploying the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System—which focuses on core or basic skills required for success in entry-level jobs across all sectors in manufacturing—we can align industry-recognized skills certifications with both career and educational pathways for students, thus building the pipeline of qualified workers for the manufacturing economy.

What is the goal of the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System?

The goals of the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System are: (1) to address the need for a better educated and prepared workforce to keep U.S. manufacturers strong and competitive; (2) to provide career and educational pathways for students and transitioning workers; (3) to help low wage workers advance in the manufacturing economy; and, (4) to align public and private investments in education and training to industry-driven credentials in post secondary education including both community colleges and 4-year institutions.

How will the NAM-Endorsed Skills Certification System benefit employers, workers, and educators?

The NAM-Endorsed Skills Certification System will revolutionize education and training for 21st century manufacturing by providing skills assessments, standardized curriculum requirements, and portable credentials that validate the attainment of the critical competencies required by industry.

For Manufacturers, the NAM system will ensure their workers have the skills required for jobs in today’s manufacturing economy.  By recognizing and requiring skills certifications, employers can:

• Strengthen employee recruitment, training, and retention and boost loyalty;
• Identify the right person for the right job, validating employees’ skills; and
• Address training gaps, increasing productivity and decreasing accidents, enhancing workplace safety.

For Workers and Students, credentials gained through the NAM system will strengthen an individual’s ability to be mobile in the workforce, compete for higher-level jobs, and move to in-demand careers by:

• Providing skills and competencies recognized industry-wide; and
• Providing career pathways clearly mapped to educational pathways tied to credentials preferred by employers in multiple sectors.

For Educators, the NAM system will standardize curriculum requirements leading to:

• Competency-based instruction with measurable objectives; and,
• Portable and stackable industry-recognized credentials with real value in the workplace.

Beyond the entry-level certifications, what other higher-level certifications will be included?

Over the past 8 months The Manufacturing Institute has reached out to over 230 allied associations to inventory industry-recognized certifications.  The allied associations represent fourteen sectors of the manufacturing economy including Energy; Aerospace; Chemical Products; Machinery; Fabricated Metal Products; Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Products; Natural Materials / Early Processing; Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices; Plastics and Rubber Products; Motor Vehicles, Bodies & Trailers Parts; Paper Products, Wood and Printing; Construction; Computer & Electronics; and Transportation, Distribution & Logistics.

As a result, the Institute identified, to date, fourteen major certifying organizations representing over 100 certifications for manufacturing workers.  To get to higher level occupation-specific and sector-specific skills (tier 5 and up), the Institute will work with these organizations to map careers in manufacturing to the appropriate industry-recognized credential.

Does the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System include emerging skills such as green and lean?

The NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System is built as a dynamic framework to reflect real-time skills in the workplace.  Lean and green skills are cross-cutting competencies needed for many of the manufacturing processes and technologies and will continue to be required of the workers for the future.  The Manufacturing Institute and its certification partners, with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers leading the standards review, are working to embed lean and green skills and competencies into the system.

Will training be a part of the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System?

The NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System organizes an array of individual skills certification programs into a system to deliver basic skills for workers in all sectors of manufacturing.  Translating these skills certifications into career and educational pathways is critical to ensuring our future workforce has the necessary skills to succeed in entry-level jobs and to position them for advancement in manufacturing careers.  Those educational pathways must have associated curriculum for integration into educational programs of study, particularly in community colleges.

As part of the deployment of the system, the Institute will identify and/or develop best-in-class curriculum that will ensure students achieve the competencies necessary to achieve industry-driven credentials.  Where curriculum does not exist the Institute will move to fill the market need with appropriate partners.

What are the next steps in implementing the NAM-Endorsed Skills Certification System?

The Manufacturing Institute and its partners have a multi-tier strategy for implementation that will target 1) employers; 2) education policy leaders; 3) public and private training providers; and, 4) prospective manufacturing workers.

Who manages the NAM-Endorsed Skills Certification System?

The NAM-Endorsed Skills Certification System is managed by The Manufacturing Institute, a non-partisan arm of NAM focused on delivering leading-edge solutions and services to the nation’s manufacturers through its National Center for the American Workforce and its National Center for Manufacturing Research and Innovation.

Incorporated in 1991, as a 501(c)(3), the Institute established its position as a leading research organization, providing critical information to public policy makers on challenges and opportunities for today’s industry.

How do NAM’s criteria differ from those of existing organizations, such as ANSI and NOCA that accredit certification bodies?

The NAM–Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System is not an accreditation; it is an endorsement.  The system is relying on the validation of existing accreditation bodies including: CESB (Council of Engineering & Scientific Specialty Boards), Association of Boards of Certification (focus on professional environmental certification programs), Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR), National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA), American Psychological Association, National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME), Educational Testing Service (ETS), American College Testing (ACT), and Professional Examination Service (PES)

Given ISO certification is a well-recognized standard in manufacturing, The Manufacturing Institute will encourage all participating organizations to achieve further accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), to ensure the proper process and validated instruments are in place to differentiate those who have acquired the essential knowledge and skills from those who have not.