Apprenticeship & WBL for Advanced Manufacturing
May 27, 2020
Advanced manufacturing companies use work-based learning to help workers become productive experts in the technical aspects of advanced manufacturing machinery and processes.
Apprenticeship and other forms of work-based learning have helped manufacturers respond to multiple staffing and talent challenges, including an aging workforce, constantly changing technologies, and a lack of standardized training. When companies are unable to overcome challenges like those, their workforces become less productive, their profits decline, and they begin to lose their capacity to innovate. But if they have well-designed work-based learning programs, they can attract new workers and provide current employees with opportunities to learn new skills and stay up to date on the latest technological advances.
Our recent study showed that employers who implemented the Industrial Manufacturing Technician (IMT) apprenticeship program had a 48 percent return on investment.
As this chart illustrates, apprenticeship programs exist for a range of manufacturing occupations:
Resources for WBL in Advanced Manufacturing
Women in Skilled Manufacturing Apprenticeships & Careers: An Introduction To Equity and Inclusion
The recordings of this 2-day virtual institute provide manufacturing industry leaders with a unique opportunity to learn about best practices for hiring and retaining women. The recordings of this 2-day virtual institute provide manufacturing industry…
Creating an Equitable & Future-Focused Manufacturing Workforce with Apprenticeship
Discover how apprenticeship can help your manufacturing business become a more competitive player and an employer of choice for a diverse pool of talented workers from a wide range of backgrounds. Discover how apprenticeship can…
JFF Director Myriam Sullivan in “Apprenticeship Helps Women Enter, and Advance in, the Skilled Trades”
September 11, 2020
The Next-Gen IMT Apprenticeship: A Return on Investment Study
This study measures the business impact of the Industrial Manufacturing Technician Registered Apprenticeship program on six apprenticeship sponsors. Apprenticeships are drastically underutilized as a standard part of the development and training of the American workforce.…
Apprenticeship Is Vital to Manufacturing's Post-Pandemic Recovery
As we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, apprenticeship can play an important role in efforts to foster an equitable economic recovery as a key component of new talent development programs and efforts to retrain or…
Widen the Net: A Sensible Way to Increase the Supply of Skilled Labor in Manufacturing
By mining sources such as those and cultivating a diverse workforce, manufacturers have an opportunity to not only alleviate the pressure of the talent shortage they’re facing today, but also drive innovation and business growth.
Growing Opportunities in Manufacturing through Bilingual Upskilling
The bilingual GOAL training program provides opportunities for English Language Learners to progress in advanced manufacturing careers. The bilingual GOAL training program provides opportunities for English Language Learners to progress in advanced manufacturing careers. This…
Giving Manufacturing Career Pathways a LIFT
This book chapter from an upcoming compilation explores the way the Industrial Manufacturing Technician apprenticeship supports workers and companies’ needs. This book chapter from an upcoming compilation explores the way the Industrial Manufacturing Technician apprenticeship…
Work-Based Learning in Action
*Work-Based Learning in Action* is a series of case studies highlighting effective models of work-based learning. Work-Based Learning in Action is a series of case studies highlighting effective models of work-based learning. JFF has identified…
Advanced Manufacturing WBL Programs
Building Workers' Skills at Ralph H. Simpson Co.
An Illinois manufacturer uses the Industrial Manufacturing Technician apprenticeship program to build its workers’ skills. The Industrial Manufacturing Technician (IMT) apprenticeship program provides frontline manufacturing production workers with the knowledge and competencies needed in the…
JFF Drives Talent Growth for John Deere
JFF partnered with John Deere to build and deliver a national apprenticeship program for agriculture and equipment technicians and heavy construction equipment mechanics. Background John Deere is one of America’s most successful, resilient, and iconic…
IMT Critical to Growth at Hayes Performance Systems
Hayes has a long history as a manufacturer of motorcycle brakes, and it’s seeking to extend that expertise into other automotive markets. For Hayes to diversify successfully, its workers need to be flexible, nimble, and…
JFF Supports Lockheed Martin’s Apprentice Workforce
JFF worked with Lockheed Martin to transform an inefficient, state-by-state apprenticeship model into a centralized and streamlined national program. Background Lockheed Martin corporation is one the world’s largest aerospace and defense companies. The company employs…
Manufacturing Opportunities for All with Lippert’s Apprenticeship Program
Manufacturer Lippert Components offers a bilingual apprenticeship program to help the 33% of their team members who are Latinx reach their fullest potential.
Workforce Development Institute: Teamwork Makes the IMT Dream Work
This profile highlights how WDI, a Michigan intermediary, expands the IMT apprenticeship program through building and maintaining close relationships with employers. Intermediary Profile Workforce Development Institute (WDI) This workforce product was funded by a grant…
Advanced Manufacturing WBL Participants
Always Growing and Learning: Press Operator Explains The Value Of The IMT Apprenticeship
The AFL-CIO Working for America Institute, in partnership with the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership/BIG STEP and JFF, developed the Industrial Manufacturing Technician Apprenticeship. Its impact is showcased in this profile of a participant in the…
Apprentice to Journey Worker: First IMT Registered Apprentice Transforms Her Career
With support from WRTP/ BIG STEP and JFF, manufacturing employers have transformed the skills of their workforce with apprenticeship programs like the Industrial Manufacturing Technician Registered Apprenticeship. “It’s all about self-growth. If a person is…
César Barrios: A Career With No Limits
A workforce training program helps a Venezuelan immigrant with an American dream get his motor running. Participant Profile Cesar Barrios A workforce training program helps a Venezuelan immigrant with an American dream get his motor…
IMT Accelerates Apprentice's Career Opportunities
As a result of his Industrial Manufacturing Technician apprenticeship, Rick Bostwick is moving up the career ladder at Dayton-Phoenix Group. In 2016, Rick Bostwick had been working on factory floors for more than 10 years…
José Romero: Scoring with GOAL!
Spanish-language training program provides career opportunities to onetime asylum-seeker. José Romero once had a comfortable life in Venezuela, with a job he enjoyed at Corpoelec, the state-owned electric company. But in 2016, as his country’s…
Sarah Sanchez: New Skills, Innate Abilities
With GOAL, Sarah Sanchez combined her innate abilities with new training to further her career. Participant Profile Sarah Sanchez New Skills, Innate Abilities Sarah Sanchez has always worked to help others. When she was…