TEN 06-24 (Accessible PDF).pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT NOTICE NO. 06-24DATE August 27 2024 EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WASHINGTON D.C. 20210 TO STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES STATE WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATORS STATE AND LOCAL WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS STATE LABOR COMMISSIONERS STATE RAPID RESPONSE COORDINATORS AMERICAN JOB CENTERS FROM JOS JAVIER RODR GUEZ s Assistant Secretary SUBJECT Benef its of Collaboration Between the Public Workf orce System the Manuf acturing Extension Partnership MEP Program and the Manuf acturing USA Network of Institutes 1.Purpose. The purpose of this Training and Employment Notice TEN is to encourage workf orce system collaboration and strategic partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce s Manufacturing Extension Partnership program and the Manuf acturing USA network of institutes to provide assistance and support to manufacturing f irms particularly small and mediumJsized manuf acturers to prepare a skilled workf orce to support economic growth while preserving and creating jobs. This TEN rescinds and replaces the Employment and Training Administration s ETA previous notice TEN No. 3UJ11 Benefits of Collaboration Between State Local Workforce Investment Boards and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership MEP Program. 2.Action Requested. ETA encourages Workf orce Development Boards American Job Centers and the broader workforce system to become f amiliar with the MEP program and Manuf acturing USA Institutes to identif y the MEP Center and Institute s nearest you and to initiate the conversation to establish a partnership as opportunities arise. For a detailed outline of the MEP and Manuf acturing USA Impact areas please see Strengthening U.S. Manuf acturing Manufacturing USA and the Manuf acturing Extension Partnership NIST. The Resources section at the bottom of this TEN provides links to the contacts f or MEP Centers and the Manuf acturing USA Institutes coordinated by the Department of Commerce s National Institute of Standards and Technology NISTF. Contact your local MEm Center or the relevant Manufacturing USA Institute to explore options f or collaborating to support manufacturing companies particularly small and mediumJsized manuf acturers to help them address challenges enhance their competitive position and ultimately create jobs and hire and retain skilled workers. 2 3. Summary and Background . a. Summary This TEN provides examples of promising practices of collaboration between the workf orce system states and local Manufacturing Extension Partnership Centers and the 17 soon to be 19 Manuf acturing USA Institutes. b. Background While the number of manuf acturing jobs has declined over the past 20 years as a percentage of national employment manuf acturers now employ 13 million Americans mostly in jobs with good wages and benef its and skilled advanced manuf acturing workers are still in critical demand. With the almost 2 trillion in recent investments through the Bipartisan Inf rastructure Law Creating Helpf ul Incentives to Produce Semiconductors CHIPS and Science Act and the Inf lation Reduction Act the need f or a pipeline of skilled manuf acturing workers is critical f or continued American competitiveness and to support these investments over the next decade and beyond. Manuf acturers are predicted to generate thousands more technology -related jobs through these investments and other ef f orts. Advanced manuf acturing jobs are of ten considered to be good jobs as def ined by the Good Jobs Principles published by Departments of Labor and Commerce. However jobs are at risk of remain ing unf illed due to multiple reasons including lack of awareness or negative impressions of manuf acturing as a career path lack of relevant training opportunities or lack of individuals with the desired level s of training applied skills or experience to f ill middle -skill jobs in manuf acturing. Multiple strategies can be applied to address these workf orce concerns. The Employment and Training Administration at Labor the Manuf acturing Extension Partnership headquartered at Commerce and Manufacturing USA Institutes sponsored by the Commerce Def ense or Energy Departments are collaborating with industry partners of all sizes in local initiatives to support quality training and career opportunities that ensure a suf f icient number of skilled workers to meet growing demand. All these initiatives drive progress towards ensuring an economically robust and diverse manuf acturing ecosystem thrives in America. T he initiatives can address workf orce needs by creating access to trained work ers ensuring equitable opportunity f or career pathways and improving perceptions of the manufacturing sector as a high -quality career path way that provides good jobs . These initiatives can also help avert layof f s and closures by helping manuf acturers to diversif y into new manuf acturing markets and identif y new manufacturing needs they can meet with their current workforce capabilities and equipment. 4. M anufacturing Extension Partnerships and Manufacturing USA Institutes Support of W orkforce Needs . MEP and Manuf acturing USA Institutes have a history of working with Workf orce Development Boards WDBs and workf orce agencies across the country to help manuf acturers f ind and train workers strengthen companies and avoid layof f s. Manuf acturing USA Institutes and MEP Centers work with multiple partners including 3 WDBs to assess companies f acing challenges and identif y business opportunities cost savings training retraining and redeployment opportunities to ensure that companies remain competitive in an ever -changing global economy. Strategies to address manuf acturers challenges might include identif ying new markets f or existing products reducing costs through process improvements reducing waste or energy use retraining workers f or new technologies and processes and or implementing innovative growth strategies. MEP Centers can also be instrumental in structuring ef f ective sector strategies and sector partnerships that can address multiple needs of manuf acturing businesses including workf orce needs among them. Similarly Manuf acturing USA Institutes collaborate with regional and community partners to execute national strategies f or advanced manuf acturing education and workf orce development. Each of the institutes in the Manuf acturing USA network has ongoing workf orce development initiatives that support both supply and demand . On the supply side t hey are engaging with educational institutions and industry to increase interest in manuf acturing careers and equip manufacturing workers with the skills they need to support the advanced manuf acturing of the f uture. As an example m any institutes have developed specialty online learning initiatives to develop career pathways that of f er more indivi dualized curricula and targeting of specif ic skills and flexibility that expands the pool of participants particularly f or underrepresented populations with barriers to traditional classroom programs . Some Manuf acturing USA Institutes have developed Registered Apprenticeships as robust career pathway s. On the demand side the institutes are helping to def ine the skills and training needed to satisf y manuf acturers f uture requirements. These ef f orts include def ining new careers f or automation robotics artif icial intelligence and data analytics retraining and upskilling the current workf orce and attracting STEM talent f or the f uture. Effective Models of Collaboration . The f ollowing are some examples of successf ul collaborations between DOL -supported programs and the MEP Centers and Manufacturing USA Institutes. Example programs highlight registered apprenticeships Job Corps individuals with disabilities inf rastructure investments and American Job Centers. NJMEP Registered Apprenticeship Funding The New Jersey MEP NJMEP is spearheading the Pro -Action Education Network a statewide scalable platf orm to prepare students and workers to f ill open positions to help NJ companies to grow and become more profitable refresh incumbent worker skills assess and poll demand f or education and training across the state and f acili tate collaboration between education and workforce development stakeholders. The Network leverages resources with the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Today NJM EP of f ers both pre - apprenticeships and 12 to 18 -month registered apprenticeships across three dif f erent occupations Industrial M anuf acturing Technician Storage and Distribution Manager and Technical Sales Representation . ARM Institute and Partner4Work National Dislocated Worker Grant Funding The Advanced Robotics Manufacturing ARM Institute which is a Department of Def ense - sponsored Manufacturing USA Institute received a Department of Labor grant through the Comprehensive and Accessible Reemployment through Equitable Employment Recovery CAREER National Dislocated Worker Grants to support recruitment and training of 4 une mployed and displaced workers as candidates f or manuf acturers to hire into entry -level robotics jobs. Through this grant the ARM Institute is collaborating with Partner4Work Pittsburgh s Workf orce Development Board to understand the local manuf acturing job market by perf orm ing a skills gap analysis identif ying WIOA -qualif ied candidates and matching them to training and job placement. ARM is also working with Catalyst Connection located in Pittsburgh and part of Pennsylvania MEP and Partner4Work to support a job matching f eature on RoboticsCareer.org f unded by th e CAREER grant and work ing with area robotics and manuf acturing employers to ensure that they are actively listing job openings on the site . As a deliverable of the grant the ARM Institute is work ing with a data analytics partner to produce a f ormalized report highlighting recruitment tactics best practices in training employer engagement strategies as well as a study highlighting rapid employment best practices in the advanced manuf acturing and ro botics sector. This inf ormation can then be used f or large -scale deployment in other areas of the country ef f ectively providing a road map. AMT part of NY MEP Partnership with Job Corps The Alliance f or Manuf acturing and Technology AMT partnered with Oneonta Job Corps Academy OJCA their local Job Corps branch to attract and train Job Corps residents on smart meter instrumentation. Tooling U SME online curriculum was chosen for the p ilot and was completed with the Certif ied Manuf acturing Associate CMf gA proctored exams f or qualif ied students f rom the Smart Meter and Instrumentation program. The pilot program was also supported by an Innovation Grant f rom America Works in 2022. Stu dents learned everything f rom Programma ble Logic Controller PLC programming to low voltage controls and earned a Certif ied Manuf acturing Associate credential f rom Tooling U. AMT and OJCA completed two 6 -week program pilot campaigns to prepare applicants f or job opportunities and ultimately permanent hire in the Southern Tier region of Upstate New York . To date 13 OJCA students have completed the Tooling U SME certif ication two have remained in the Oneonta area while others have gone on to accelerated opportunities across the country including placement with the National Center for Urban Solutions in O hio. As a result of this partnership the CMf gA credential was recently accepted by Job Corps nationally as a recognized credential in their CIS3G database. NWIRC Part of PA MEP Training Neurodivergent Young Adults for CNC Machining Jobs In partnership with the Uniquely Abled Project Northwest Industrial Resource Center NWIRC is using Pennsylvania WIOA Statewide f unds awarded to the Northwest Workf orce Development Board through a Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry Business -Education Partnership Grant to establish Uniquely Abled Academies UAAs at two local community colleges in Pennsylvania. Using WIOA f unds these academies are able to train 30 -plus individuals annually with a nearly 100 placement rate. The UAA model is a f irst of its kind program developed in collaboration between machine technology educators specialists in education f or those with autism state and local social service agencies and n onprofit and f or -prof it organizations. Together these organizations provide training support and job placement services . Upon completion of training the program 5 seeks to match math - and computer -savvy neurodivergent young adult s to careers as Computer Numerical Control CNC operators at local manuf acturing companies. MAGNET part of Ohio MEP Partner on Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant The purpose of the DOL -f unded Building Pathways grants is to invest in public -private partnerships that can develop implement and scale worker -centered sector strategy training programs to meet the goals of the Bipartisan Inf rastructure Law as well as investments f rom the CHIPS and Science Act and Inf latio n Reduction Act. The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services grant project Charged Up aims to expand the electric vehicle EV manuf acturing workforce in Northeast Ohio in alignment with Ohio s Auto and Advanced Mobility Workf orce Strategy partic ularly among women f ormerly incarcerated individuals people of color veterans and other underrepresented populations. Part of the Ohio MEP the activities of the Manuf acturing Advocacy and Growth Network MAGNET are f ocused on 1 outreach recruitment and enrollment in the ACCESS to Manuf acturing program as an on -ramp to EV careers and 2 collaboration and coordination with two community colleges Cuyahoga Co mmunity College and Lorain County Community College to scale enrollment in EV career pathways such as industry credentials Registered Apprenticeship Programs and or degree options and provide supportive ser vices. NextFlex Partner on Scaling Apprenticeship Grant Through the Department of Labor s Scaling Apprenticeship grant with Lorain County Community College LCCC NextFlex a D epartment of Def ense -sponsored Manuf acturing USA Institute was able to expand the Ohio Manufacturing Workf orce Partnership that they lead in collaboration with the Ohio Manuf acturers Association and Ohio TechNet. The primary goal of this grant program is to accelerate the expansion of apprenticeships to new industry sectors including advanced manufacturing. In addition the grant program seeks to increase the level of apprenticeship activity among employers that have not traditionally implemented apprenticeship programs particularly small - and medium -sized bu sinesses. LCCC s TRAIN OH model was launched with extensive support f rom NextFlex and is now being used to promote expansion of apprenticeships in advanced manuf acturing. Additionally with the assistance of LCCC NextFlex was able to leverage the Ohio TechNet network to expand their K -12 outreach recruitment and STEM education program FlexFactor to an additional 12 sites. Further strengthening this strong model of workf orce partnership in March of 2024 NextFlex named LCCC as their f irst Education and Workf orc e Development Innovation Center. CESMI I Statewide California Workforce Development CESMII Clean Energy Smart Manuf acturing Innovation Institute a Manuf acturing USA Institute supported a statewide workf orce development project in Calif ornia. The project was led by El Camino College in partnership with a diverse group of community colleges and universities in the state in particular Cal State Northridge UCLA and UC Berkeley as well as the Calif ornia Department of Education South Bay Workf orce Investment Board 6 and the state s Employment Training Panel. Over 2 000 manuf acturing workers were trained on Smart Manuf acturing skills along with 361 Def ense industry workers. In addition the project delivered multiple enduring training resources that can support f uture workf orce needs including Smart Manuf acturing Training Modules f or an incumbent workf orce High School Community College and University Smart Manuf acturing Curriculum Modules Smart Manuf acturing Post-Bachelor Certif icate curriculum and Smart Manuf acturing content f or Chemical Engineering degree program. Missouri Enterprise Partner with Missouri Job Center A f ood processing f acility in Missouri f acing an ongoing challenge to maintain and grow adequate workf orce levels to keep the operation running smoothly particularly f or entry- level manuf acturing positions connected with the Missouri MEP Center Missouri Enterprise. Missouri Enterprise s Area Business Manager then partnered with the local Missouri Job Center to identif y and create a ref erral process to support the local community s manuf acturing hiring needs. The Job Center recruited applicants to attend a no-cost Basics of Manufacturing training program of fered by the MEP designed to give people basic skills that make them better applicants f or entry-level manuf acturing jobs. At the end of the course local employers conducted personal interviews with graduates and made job offers on the spot benef itting the f ood processing f acility while also connecting local residents and employers in the manuf acturing workf orce. 5. Inquiries. Please direct inquiries to the appropriate Regional Office. 6.References. Connect with an MEP Center Find Your Local MEP Center NIST Impact of MEP National Network FY23 MEPNN Overview w IMPACTS 012624.pdf nist.gov Connect with a Manuf acturing USA Institute Manuf acturing USA Overview About Manuf acturing USA Manuf acturing USA Education and Workf orce Development Manuf acturing USA Key Initiatives Inf ographic on Strengthening U.S. Manuf acturing Manuf acturing USA and the Manuf acturing Extension Partnership NIST The High Road to the Middle Class map of projects High Road to the Middle Class U.S. Department of Labor dol.gov Revitalizing America s Manuf acturing Workf orce A Manuf acturing USA National Roadmap 2023 Manuf acturing USA Annual Report Manuf acturing USA 2022 Memorandum of Understanding between Department of Labor and Department of Commerce OSEC DOC MOU.pdf dol.gov 7.Attachments. None