Training the Manufacturing Workforce: Don't Go It Alone-Industry Week

With a skilled production workforce in short supply, manufacturers are stepping up, stepping in and collaborating with training partners to develop curriculums that meet their needs. Right Skills Now is an antidote to those challenges. The program launched last year as a pilot in Minnesota at Dunwoody College of Technology and South Central Community College. It is a 24-week program, broken down into 18 weeks of class and lab work, followed by a six-week paid internship, and prepares graduates to become CNC operators. Built on the National Association of Manufacturers-endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System, Right Skills Now's core partners include the NAM-affiliated Manufacturing Institute, training organization ACT Inc., the National Institute for Metalworking Skills and the president's Jobs Council.