Earlier this month, educators and industry trainers got together virtually to share their experiences in implementing workforce development solutions, during the PMA Educational Foundation’s annual Best Practices program. Speakers from Ohio, Texas, Minnesota and Illinois shared experiences around the theme of creating and building coalitions to deliver training that meets an industry-defined need.
Those participating in the program learned about an education/industry partnership that resulted in a press brake lab at a technical college. They also learned how customized training is delivered to companies utilizing grant funding and how a new urban vocational school is being designed with the help of industry and the support of the school district. And finally, they heard how a PMA district developed a sensor curriculum and overcame challenges of distance to create a delivery mechanism so companies throughout the state could train their employees.
Small and medium sized manufacturers typically share the challenge of training their employees without benefit of a full time trainer and without “numbers” enough to attract and sustain the interest of local schools. After all, like industry, schools need to be concerned with R.O.I. and space and faculty utilization. These were all success stories, with elements that can be replicated in whole or in part as companies address their workforce development needs, in many cases in concert with other companies with similar needs.
Has your company or school had a success? Let me know. Maybe next year you’ll have an opportunity to share your story.
David C. Sansone, CAE, is Executive Director of the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Educational Foundation and PMA's Director of Training and Education. He leads the association’s efforts to provide workforce-development solutions to the metalforming industry and interfaces with the industry’s workforce-solution providers.Share: 
