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MSSCNEWSMSSC NEWSFebruary 2015
Four New MSSC Board Members
As the national leader since 1998 in defining industry-wide skills standards for front-line work (entry-level through first line supervisory) in advanced manufacturing and logistics, MSSC has been fortunate in having senior industry experts on production and supply chain processes on its Board, together with national leaders in career-tech education. MSSC is pleased to announce four new Board members who continue this tradition:
  • Scott Ellsworth, Director, Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships,
  • Kim Green, Executive Director, National Association of State Directors Career-Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc),
  • Mark Hanback, Director, Caterpillar Production Systems (CPS), and 
  • Dan Stanton, VP, Education & Professional Development, Material Handling Industry (MHI)

Please click here for a full list of MSSC Board of Directors

Staff Additions
Lisa Seyfried has joined MSSC as the new Operations Coordinator. Lisa's background is in operations and communications at various education non-profits and Washington DC small businesses. She holds an MA in Women's Studies from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Philadelphia University. 

Please click here for our full staff list MSSC Staff.
 
PUBLICPOLICYPUBLIC POLICY NEWS

presidentPresident's FY16 DOL Budget: Investment in Training and Skills
On February 2, President Obama submitted his Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress, providing the Administration's appropriations requests for federal programs and activities beginning October 1, 2015.

 

The FY 2016 budget includes ambitious proposals to make significant, new investments in training and skills. The budget builds on recent congressional and administrative efforts to modernize investments in skills, including passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the administration's job-driven training action plan, including America's College Promise and the American Technical Training fund.

Overall, the Administration's discretionary budget request for the Department of Labor (DOL) is $13.2 billion, 11 percent above the FY 2015 level. Funding for the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), which administers the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and other federal job training and employment programs, is set at $10.6 billion, compared to $9.67 billion in FY 2015.

The Department of Labor budget proposes significant new investments in strategies long recognized as best practices by the field, including sector partnerships, industry certifications, apprenticeships, career pathways, and job-driven investment. The proposed funding would complement recent efforts by Congress and the Administration to strengthen investments in education and training through WIOA and the administration's Job-Driven Training Action Plan.

Please click here for a full FY2016 DOL Budget Analysis.
 
manufacturingMANUFACTURING NEWS AND TRENDS

Census Bureau Releases Top 10 States for Manufacturing Jobs
The Census Bureau earlier released manufacturing statistics from its 2012 Economic Census at the state, metro area and county levels, as well as for cities and towns, for more than 350 manufacturing industries. The data cover more than 296,000 U.S. manufacturing establishments within every state and their localities. At the top of the list was California employing 1.2 million at 38,741 companies. However, when adding per capita density data for manufacturing jobs in each of these 10 states, Indiana comes in at number 1! Please see breakdown below.

 

Top Ten States in Manufacturing

Top Ten States (% of Manufacturing Jobs Per Capita)

1. California employed 1.2 million at 38,741 companies

Indiana - 17.1%

2. Texas employed 767,024 in 19,782 companies

Wisconsin - 16.8%

3. Ohio employed 627,124 at 14,482 companies

Michigan - 13.6%

4. Pennsylvania employed 543,642 at 13,988 companies

Ohio - 13%

5. Illinois employed 542, 004 at 13,868 companies

North Carolina - 11.3%

6. Michigan employed 514,058 at 12, 444 companies

Illinois - 10.4%

7. Indiana employed 452, 513 at 8,141 companies

Pennsylvania - 10.2%

8. Wisconsin employed 436,777 at 8,995 companies

California - 8.3%

9. New York employed 426,621 at 16, 475 companies

Texas - 8.1%

10. North Carolina employs 403,593 at 7,997 companies

New York - 5.3%

 

Please click here for the Industry Week article.

communityNEWS FROM THE MSSC COMMUNITY

Ivy Tech Offering Free Job Training In Advanced Manufacturing

Ivy Tech Corporate College is providing free, scholarship-funded job training to a limited number of eligible participants through the Advanced Manufacturing Program (AMP). The training will result in a nationally recognized certification: Certified Production Technician (CPT) from the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council (MSSC). Training sessions began Feb. 23 in both Bloomington and Bedford.

The program consists of 140 hours of training over eight weeks, including three-hour class sessions each Monday through Thursday, and some Fridays, according to a press release from Ivy Tech. AMP participants will gain competency in four advanced manufacturing areas included in CPT: safety, quality and measurement, manufacturing processes and production, and maintenance awareness. The program offers various time frames to accommodate schedules of participants.

Please click here for the full Herald Times article.
 
Illinois Valley Board Approves New Engineering Tech Degree

In a move to address the shortage of skilled workers in manufacturing, Illinois Valley Community College trustees approved a new degree in engineering technology. The degree was developed with input from eight technical program advisory groups.

 

Graduates will also gain enhanced employability by earning two nationally portable, industry-recognized credentials: ANSI-accredited Manufacturing Skills Standards Council certification as a certified production technician (CPT) and OSHA 10-Hour General Industry.

 

Please click here for full Times article.
 

Community Colleges in NY focusing on Industry Certifications

According to a recent article by Westchester Community College administrators, businesses in New York are increasingly partnering with community colleges to meet their education and training needs. They reported that 13 SUNY colleges are participating in a DOL TAACCCT grant based on the attainment of industry-recognized certifications, such as those offered by MSSC, NIMS and ACT NCRC.

 

Under a section called "National Trends," the article also notes the nationwide impact of the Alamo Academies Program in San Antonio (one of MSSC "Best Practice" programs). This well-known, industry funded program allows participating students to graduate from high school with up to 35 college credits, a National Career Readiness Certificate and the MSSC Certified Production Technician (CPT), combined with Junior Year and Senior Year paid internships.

 

Please click here for the full Westfair Online article.

A Recent CPT Grad Shares, "I have more power to succeed" 

A recent CPT graduate employed by Dakota shared his insights in a letter to his colleagues.

 

"A lot of what we have learned has been surfacing while at work. I've been teaching some of my co-workers a thing or two! It's fun having the knowledge we gained in CPT class and I feel much more confident doing the work." U know they say that "Knowledge is Power" and I feel that I have more power to succeed more than anything! There's not much that I learned in CPT class that actually helps me to physically do any of the jobs at Dakota but understanding the different processes, procedures, safety rules, how to operate machines and respond to different occurrences in manufacturing helps tremendously." 
 

MSSC is thrilled to receive this type of feedback. Please contact Dina Igoe, MSSC Senior Marketing Manager at [email protected] to share your CPT and CLT success stories.

 

internationalINTERNATIONAL NEWS

 

Reshoring Contributing to Manufacturing Job Growth

According to Harry Moser, President of the Reshoring Initiative, a growing number of  U.S. firms have decreased their "offshoring" of jobs abroad and have increased their "reshoring" of those jobs at home. Data show that reshoring plus increased direct investment in the U.S. by foreign manufacturers (FDI) added about 20% to the increase in the growing number of manufacturing jobs in recent years.


Moser's data shows both the favorable reshoring and FDI trends are driven by rapidly rising emerging market wages, especially in China, and low U.S. energy costs. They are also driven by companies starting to buy based on "total cost of ownership" rather than price.
 
The Reshoring Initiative also cites the availability of a "Skilled Workforce" one of the major reasons why companies are choosing to locate or re-locate in the U.S.
 
Please click here for an informative Reshoring Infographic.
 
US Ranks in Top Third in International Comparisons of Hourly Compensation Costs in Manufacturing

In comparison with 36 foreign economies, US manufacturing hourly total compensation costs in 2013 ranked in the top third at $36.34. With the exception of U.S., Canada, and Australia, countries with higher hourly compensation costs were primarily in northern and western Europe. 

 

Between 1997 and 2013, compensation costs in manufacturing as a percent of US costs increased in all economies compared except Japan, Taiwan and Brazil, improving US labor cost competitiveness.

  

Please click here for a full Conference Board article.

US Becomes Hotspot for Aerospace Engineering

Consistent with the Reshoring Initiative data (see above) Reuters reports, the aerospace industry is shifting more manufacturing investment to the United States after a decade in which production jobs in the sector flowed to China and other emerging economies, according to a new study.

 

Consultancy ICF International analyzed more than 2,000 investment transactions made since 2000, and found 28 new manufacturing investments in the United States from 2012 to 2013, compared with eight each in China and Mexico, and four in Brazil. A decade earlier, Mexico led the pack with 10 investments, compared with just six investments in the United States.

 

Please click the link for the full Reuters article.
 

In This Issue
New MSSC Board Members
Top 10 States for Manufactuting Jobs
Ivey Tech Offers Free Job Training
Illinois Valley's New Engineering Degree
NY CCs Focus on Industry Certifications
CPT Grad Has More Power to Succeed
Reshoring Initiative Report
US Ranks in Top Third in Compensation

Featured Article

President Obama submitted his Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress.

 

The Administration's discretionary budget request for the Department of Labor (DOL) is $13.2 billion, 11 percent above the FY 2015 level.

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