Building a Stronger Manufacturing Future: Workcred and Tooling U-SME to Share Findings from Industry Reports

9/10/2018


Workcred will team up with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) and Tooling U-SME on September 20 in Cleveland to share findings on their respective research studies that provide industry recommendations to advance the manufacturing industry. The organizations will co-present at the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC) conference during their workshop segment highlighting the theme, "New Data on Workforce - Time to Take Action!"

The segment is part of the NCATC conference held September 19-21, 2018, which will focus on the theme, "At the Nexus of Workforce Development & Technology." The conference will highlight practices around strategic focus areas to include competency-based learning in workforce development and industry-recognized credentials and certifications, among other topics.

Roy Swift, Ph.D., executive director of Workcred, an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) affiliate, and Mary Ann Pacelli, manager of workforce development at NIST MEP, will share findings from Workcred's newly released report, Examining the Quality, Market Value, and Effectiveness of Manufacturing Credentials in the United States. The report, funded by NIST MEP, examines how credentials are currently used in hiring and retention practices, and how credentialing can be improved to meet the needs of the manufacturing industry.

The extensive report surveyed a wide range of manufacturing sectors, facility sizes, geographic regions, and job roles. It provides insights from survey and focus group responses that reflect how credentials are used and valued by industry at a time when U.S. manufacturers report a skills gapand provides recommendations for credentialing and workforce stakeholders, including:

  • Improving understanding about the content, use, and value of credentials
  • Expanding the use of quality standards for credentials
  • Strengthening relationships between employers, education and training providers, and credentialing organizations
  • Adding an employability skills component to existing and new credentials
  • Creating credentials that focus on performance and address new roles
  • Increasing the number of apprentices and expanding apprenticeships to more occupations


Jeannine Kunz, vice president of Tooling U-SME, will also present on findings from their report, Industry Pulse: 2018 Manufacturing Workforce Study, which reveals the challenges facing manufacturers over the next three years due to the skills crisis. The study indicated that 83 percent of respondents are going to be at least somewhat challenged by productivity improvements over the next three yearswhile 41 percent are going to be very or extremely challenged.

Read more about the conference on the NCATC conference website.

About Workcred

Formed in 2014, Workcred's mission is to strengthen workforce quality by improving the credentialing system, ensuring its ongoing relevance, and preparing employers, workers, educators, and governments to use it effectively. Its vision is a labor market which relies on the relevance, quality, and value of workforce credentials for opportunities, growth, and development.