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The Manufacturing Institute - United States

The Manufacturing Institute
United States

Skills Certification System 

A recent study states that some 600,000 US manufacturing jobs – 5% of total – will go unfilled simply because employers cannot find people with the right set of skills.60 Three-quarters of manufacturers indicate that this skills gap has hindered their ability to expand operations or improve productivity.61 That is where the Manufacturing Institute’s Skills Certification System (SCS) comes in. Through the SCS, the Manufacturing Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), aims to close the manufacturing skills gap through the standardization of manufacturing education and training and the creation of a skilled manufacturing workforce qualified to meet the future needs of employers. The Manufacturing Institute issued 84,738 certifications in 2011 and aims to award 500,000 cumulatively by 2016.62

To realize its goal, the Manufacturing Institute has partnered with 16 industry and professional associations that sponsor and collaborate in the design of dozens of tailored certifications that address employers’ needs. These NAM-endorsed certifications reflect the full range of manufacturing sectors – from aerospace to food processing to chemicals, among many others.

Figure 11: 2011 Distribution of Manufacturing Industry Certifications by State

Source: National Association of Manufacturers

The certifications may be offered at high schools, community colleges or four-year institutions and cover four general skill groupings:

  • Personal effectiveness skills 
  • Basic academic requirements 
  • General workplace competencies 
  • Industry-wide technical competencies

At present, the Manufacturing Institute is active in promoting the SCS programme in 32 states – from early grassroots efforts to well-established relationships with state-level manufacturing organizations.63

Representative Best Practices

There are four key features that make the programme effective:

  • Credibility: In advancing the SCS programme, the Manufacturing Institute has partnered with leading certification programmes – such as the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) and American Welding Society (AWS) – that are well recognized by manufacturing employers and academic/training institutions. This credibility will help the programme to achieve its long-term goal of 500,000 cumulative certifications by 2016.
  • Wide-ranging levels of certifications: The NAM-endorsed certifications are progressive or “stackable” in that they serve the full range of the educational institution – from high school and vocational training to four-year institutions and level of career achievement – from machine operator to engineering manager.
  • Engagement with industry incumbents that builds demand: The SCS identifies manufacturing champions in a state or region and generates awareness among key stakeholders.
  • Efficient talent connections: The credibility of a given SCS certification is a measure of a particular skill level. Prospective manufacturing employers rely on that measure in identifying the right talent for the right position. In that sense, the SCS certification makes the hiring process more efficient, for both employer and employee.

Making an Impact

Figure 15: National Association of Manufacturers’ Competencies Chart

Source: National Association of Manufacturers

The following are supplying US manufacturers with certified workers.

  • Forsyth Tech/Caterpillar: Forsyth Technical Community College integrated the SCS into its four focus programme areas: mechanical engineering technologies, machining technologies, industrial system technologies and welding. Forsyth’s curriculum was reviewed for industry certification alignment and gaps were filled. In addition to their degree, Forsyth alumni graduate with the National Career Readiness Certificate, which establishes Reading for Information, Applied Math, and Locating Information standards. Graduates may also obtain a wide array of SCS-endorsed, profession-specific certifications. These certifications prepare alumni for promising technical careers with salaries of up to US$ 79,000 a year. By providing an attractive, certified labour force, Forsyth Tech played a critical role in luring a US$ 426 million Caterpillar plant to the region; the facility provides career opportunities to more than 500 employees.64
  • Energizer Battery: Working with the North Carolina Employment Security Commission, Energizer uses the SCS-endorsed National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) to screen job applicants. Energizer initially applied this approach to nine production positions and is in now in the process of applying it to additional positions, including continuous improvement leaders and quality lab assistants. Both the NCRC and the larger SCS programme make the hiring process more efficient and accelerate diffusion of specialized skills across the workforce.65
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60 Deloitte/Manufacturing Institute (September 2011) Boiling point? The skill gap in US manufacturing. Available at: http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/~/media/A07730B2A798437D98501E798C2E13AA.ashx, page 2.
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61 Deloitte/Manufacturing Institute (September 2011) Boiling point? The skill gap in US manufacturing. Available at: http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/~/media/A07730B2A798437D98501E798C2E13AA.ashx, page 4.
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62 Manufacturing Institute SCS website.Available at: http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/Skills-Certification/Skills-Certification.aspx
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63 Manufacturing Institute (August 2012) Presentation: “Roadmap for Reform: The Manufacturing Pathway”. Speaker notes Slide 10.
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64 Manufacturing Institute’s “Building the Future Skilled Workforce: Manufacturers and Community College in Action”. Available at: http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/~/media/D95C2031D0F648F496BE524931373694/Employer_and_College_Examples.pdf and at the Forsyth Tech website: https://www.forsythtech.edu/services-businesses/nam-certification
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65 Manufacturing Workforce publication “Building the Future Skilled Workforce: Manufacturers and Community Colleges in Action”. Available at: http://www.themanufacturinginstitute.org/~/media/D95C2031D0F648F496BE524931373694/Employer_and_College_Examples.pdf
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