Council Honors Ivy Tech Manufacturing Programs
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowTwo Ivy Tech Community College programs have received high-profile honors from the Great Lakes Manufacturing Council. An initiative in South Bend and a training effort at Ivy Tech Corporate College in Lafayette were highlighted by the organization for helping with the resurgence of manufacturing in the Midwest. June 12, 2014
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS— The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council awarded the “Best U.S. National Program” to the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council (MSSC) for its “Talented Workforce Initiative,” citing Ivy Tech Community College as the benchmark for two unique workforce development programs. In ceremonies today at Cobo Convention Center in Detroit, The Big M event heralded resurgence of manufacturing and honored the key players in the renaissance. Thirty programs were nominated but only four earned top awards.
The two Ivy Tech programs which were included in the top honors: Ivy Institute of Technology for Machine Tool Technology at the college’s South Bend campus, as well as the Advanced Manufacturing training program through Ivy Tech Corporate College at the college’s Lafayette campus.
The Council created its Talented Workforce Initiative to identify the most imaginative and effective solutions for building the region’s pool of manufacturing talent. The goal of the Council’s far-ranging outreach is to share the best ideas and approaches for resolving a critical workforce shortage issue that threatens nearly all manufacturers and communities in the bi-national Great Lakes economy.
The 30 Great Lakes nominations included programs in cities in seven states and two provinces, as well as four US and Canadian national programs. 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.
Skills shortages are one of the primary challenges facing many manufacturers. Manufacturing is the cornerstone of the Great Lakes economy and is intrinsic to its success. Manufacturing makes the Great Lakes trading area home to the world’s fourth largest economy, with a combined annual output of nearly $6 trillion.
“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. 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 certifications 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,” noted Ivy Tech President Thomas J. Snyder.
The Great Lakes Manufacturing Council is a bi-national organization dedicated to the success of manufacturing in the Great Lakes region. Membership to the Council is open to all who share that goal. The Council covers the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. It is organized as a 501c3 non-profit and includes manufacturing organizations, chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, government agencies, colleges and universities.
The Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) is the nation’s leading training and certification body focused on the industry-wide core technical competencies needed by the nation’s front-line production and material handling workers. MSSC certifications, based upon industry-defined and federally endorsed national skill standards, enable workers to demonstrate that they have acquired the knowledge and skills increasingly needed in the technology-intensive jobs of the 21st century. MSSC is the only national certification body accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) under ISO quality Standard 17024 (Personnel Certification) for both manufacturing and logistics. For more information, visit www.msscusa.org.
Ivy Tech Community College is the state's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.Source: Ivy Tech Community College