In This Issue


Upcoming Events

 

VCCS 2013 Hire Education Conference 

 

December 11-13

The Homestead 

in Hot Springs, VA 

 

Hear a team of VMA staff, Virginia manufacturers and community partners talk about the Dream it. Do it. Virginia Workforce Supply Chain on Thursday, December 12 at 9:45am as part of the 2013 Hire Education Conference.
 

-------------------------------------------

Virginia Values Veterans Employer Training Day

December 4
Holiday Inn Petersburg 
in Colonial Heights, VA
8:00am-3:00pm

Register today!

 

-------------------------------------------

 

Professional School Counselors' Engineering and Engineering Technology Workshop


November 20
Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke, VA
8:30am-3:00pm





Explore




This Week in Richmond - Highlighting Manufacturing
October 11-17 This Week in Richmond Highlighted Manufacturing

 

Dream It. Do It. Virginia 

Symposium Student Experience

 

 

At the 2nd Annual Dream It. Do It. Virginia (DIDIVA) Symposium held October 17 in Charlottesville, students from the DIDIVA Manufacturing Technology summer camps demonstrated activities from their camp experience. They also had the opportunity to interact with technology vendors with 3D printing and robotics capabilities, as well as tour the Northrop Grumman Maritime Systems manufacturing facility. 

 

Ready

Commonwealth STEM Industry Internship Program 

 

The VMA is partnering with the Commonwealth STEM Industry Internship Program (CSIIP) to promote STEM-readiness opportunities through internships for collegiate engineering student.  This free-to-use, online program matches college/university students in Virginia who are looking for a paid internship position to companies in Virginia who are offering internship opportunities.  Looking for an intern for the Spring or Summer of 2014?  Work with CSIIP to find the best candidates!

 

Click here to get started!

 

 





med





didiv energy

VOLUME 2.0 | Edition 3 | October 2013
 

Assess/Certify  

Manufacturing Technician Level 1 Certification added to NAM-endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System

 

The Manufacturing Skills Institute (MSI) and Virginia Manufacturers Association (VMA) announced that the Manufacturing Technician 1� (MT1) Certification has been added to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)-endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System.  The Skills Certification System was established by The Manufacturing Institute (MI), an affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), to contribute to the development of the nation's science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-capable workforce for advanced manufacturing by recognizing world-class, industry-endorsed credentials.

 

"Manufacturers' business success is tied directly to the innovation capacity of their skilled workforce," said Jennifer McNelly, president, The Manufacturing Institute. "The Skills Certification System helps address the skills gap directly affecting the talent pipeline for manufacturers. MSI and VMA have taken on these challenges, and we are pleased to welcome them as a new partner in our efforts to address the shortage of skilled workers in the United States."

 

The MT1 Certification is a portable, stackable industry credential that demonstrates to employers anywhere in the world that an individual has an understanding of modern manufacturing and has attained mastery in the following core competency areas certified: (1) Math and Measurement, (2) Spatial Reasoning and Manufacturing Technology, and (3) Business Acumen and Quality.  The MT1 credential is third-party validated and documents core industry-wide skills standards required for skilled production occupations in all sectors of manufacturing using...

Continue Story

 

MT 1 Announcement - Virginia Industry Leadership Forum
MT1 Announcement at the 2nd Annual DIDIVA Symposium and 2013 VA Industry Leadership Forum

  

Virginia Department of Education Adds Manufacturing Technician Level 1 Certification to Approved Credentials List

 

The Virginia Board of Education has approved the Manufacturing Skills Institute's (MSI) Manufacturing Technician Level 1 (MT1) Certification for inclusion on the Board of Education Approved Industry Certifications, Occupational Competency Assessments, and Licensure List.  Effective July 1, 2013, Virginia's new High School Standard Diploma requires students to obtain an industry-recognized occupational credential to be eligible to graduate.

 

"MT1 Certification documents an individual's mastery of the critical competencies required for modern manufacturing production and production-related occupations. The goal of the MT1 Certification program is to develop a workforce pipeline capable of meeting the requirements of existing and emerging employers in advanced technology industries such as manufacturing," said Katherine DeRosear, MSI Director of Workforce Development.

 

The MT1 Certification program was developed...

 

Continue Story  

  

 

Train/Educate  

 Manufacturing Skills Institute Launches 
eLearning Network
The Manufacturing Skills Institute (MSI) has unveiled its new eLearning Network, announcing that its Manufacturing Technician 1� (MT1) Certification will now be delivered on Bluedrop's award-winning CoursePark(R) eLearning platform.  This is the beginning of a strategic partnership between the Virginia Manufacturers Association (VMA), MSI and Bluedrop to expand the MSI offerings, capabilities and reach.  "This is a tremendous resource for U.S. manufacturers and we are incredibly excited about the relationship with Bluedrop," said Brett A. Vassey, President & CEO of the Virginia Manufacturers Association. "There are several workforce development initiatives that we plan to work on together to expand the manufacturing certification to larger markets," Vassey added.  

 

"The Manufacturing Skills Institute has some of the highest standards for manufacturing certification and training in the world, and this partnership will allow us to expand their training into other U.S. States and international markets," said Emad Rizkalla, founder and CEO of Bluedrop Performance Learning. "Their user experience, accessibility and effectiveness of their existing training will be completely transformed using our CoursePark eLearning platform. We are pleased to leverage this relationship and content as part of our ambitious strategy to become a transformative force for workforce enablement in the U.S.," Rizkalla added.

 

The MSI eLearning Network uses cutting-edge technology to deliver not only the MT1 Certification program, allowing unprecedented access to MT1 assessment and training resources, but also to more fully integrate other MSI training programs...


 

Employ/Advance

Military2Manufacturing Celebrates First Cohort

 

The Virginia Industry Foundation (VIF), the research and education foundation of the Virginia Manufacturers Association (V MA), was recently awarded a VCCS demonstration grant to implement its Military2Manufacturing (M2M) career pathway.  M2M is designed to assist recently separated veterans "translate" past military experience and training into skills that lead to careers in advanced manufacturing industries.
  

As a part of this pathway, the first M2M cohort associated with the VCCS demonstration grant began its Manufacturing Technician Level 1 (MT1) training on October 21 in Staunton, Virginia with seven (7) unemployed veterans.  As pictured above, the MT1 training orientation included a tour of McKee Foods in Stuarts Draft for the participants.  Upon successful completion of the MT1 training and validation of skills through the MT1 assessment and certification process, these seven veterans will also receive career placement assistance.  If your company is interested in vetting M2M program completers for possible employment opportunities, please contact Alice Scott at 804-643-7489 ext. 23 or [email protected].

 

For more on Military2Manufacturing and the Manufacturing Technician Level 1 training, assessment and certification programs, please visit the Manufacturing Skills Institute website at www.manufacturingskillsinstitute.org.    
  

 


Partnerships

 

DIDIVA Awards 2013 Partner of the Year to the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center

 

 

The Dream It. Do It. Virginia (DIDIVA) network is pleased to recognize the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC) as its 2013 Partner of the Year.  This honor is the first of its kind and was awarded during the 2nd Annual DIDIVA Symposium held in Charlottesville on October 17.  As pictured, the award was accepted on behalf of SVHEC by Dr. Nettie Simon-Owens, SVHEC Director of Workforce Services.

 

"Receiving the Partner of the Year Award was quite a nice surprise," said Dr. Simon-Owens.  "We have worked collaboratively with VMA for several years on various initiatives focused on meeting some of the workforce needs of manufacturers.  Our relationship and efforts are forward thinking and allow us to maximize the strengths of both organizations to identify innovative and appropriate opportunities to offer employers and other workforce stakeholders."

 

Katherine DeRosear, Director of Workforce Development for the Virginia Manufacturers Association (VMA) described the partnership...

Continue Story

 

 

VMA Partner in Tobacco Commission Grant for Workforce Training 

 

 

The Virginia Manufacturers Association (VMA) is proud to be a partner in the recent award to the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC) by the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission (TIC) in the amount of $163,750 to fund an Advanced Manufacturing Bootcamp � (AMB).  The AMB will use the SVHEC-developed WorkReady Foundations (WRF) curriculum and VMA's Manufacturing Technician Level 1 Program to prepare participants for success in entry-level advanced manufacturing positions. 

 

Continue Story

 



To submit an article for the DIDIVA Newsletter, please submit it to 
[email protected].