Skills certification program, strategy report launched at MN meeting

Minneapolis, MN—Skills certification and the power of unified voices were among key discussions at the “Manufacturing Tomorrow” meeting held here on April 5, 2004.

By Control Engineering Staff April 14, 2004

Minneapolis, MN— Skills certification and the power of unified voices were among key discussions at the “Manufacturing Tomorrow” meeting held here on April 5, 2004.

Testing started for Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) certification on April 12 in Wisconsin, a step toward MSSC’s efforts to certify 11 million U.S. production workers. Six MSSC concentrations define major areas of work in manufacturing: production; quality assurance; logistics and inventory control; health, safety and environmental assurance; maintenance, installation and repair; and production process development.

“We hope that, in five to 10 years, getting MSSC certified will have as much impact as ASE certification does for auto mechanics,” says Leo Reddy, CEO of the National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM). The MSSC program is co-managed by NACFAM. MSSC developed skill standards for each of these areas of work that identify the skill and knowledge deemed necessary for a successful career in high-performance manufacturing.

Reddy also released a report, “Industry Views Towards a Comprehensive Strategy to Address the Challenges to U.S. Manufacturers,” which, he said, has “great significance for the current Presidential debate over the future of American manufacturing.” The report represents “a broad consensus” among manufacturing organizations that assembled at a March 1 conference in Washington by NACFAM and the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT). The report says that a U.S. manufacturing resurgence requires a broad policy framework encompassing tax policy, energy infrastructure investment, overhead reduction (such as health care, regulatory, legal costs), technology and innovation, workforce education, and trade policy. The report asks U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans to take a strong personal lead in implementing these recommendations at the federal level.

Control Engineering Daily News DeskMark T. Hoske, editor-in-chief MHoske@cfemedia.com