In today’s advanced manufacturing economy, most production workers, including those on the front lines, need more than the basic skills that were sufficient for factory work in previous decades.

To meet strict quality and safety standards, modern manufacturers need workers with a good deal of expertise. But experienced employees are aging out of the labor market and new talent is scarce. Employers often have a hard time finding skilled young workers who can help grow this critical sector of the U.S. economy.

The Industrial Manufacturing Technician (IMT) Apprenticeship fulfills that demand for labor by helping employers and unions attract and train people to work in advanced manufacturing facilities.

What Is the IMT?

A nationally recognized apprenticeship registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, the IMT is hybrid training program in which participants acquire knowledge and skills that are essential in advanced manufacturing environments. Workers who complete the 18-month or 3,000-hour apprenticeship will learn to do the following:

• Set up, operate, monitor, and control production equipment
• Help improve manufacturing processes and schedules to meet customer requirements
• Understand manufacturing as an integrated business system made up of multiple disciplines, processes, and stakeholders
• Efficiently and safely manage time and materials

IMT graduates are prepared to work in settings as diverse as food processing plants, foundries, plastics production facilities, and biomedical plants.

Project Progress

Since 2015, JFF has enrolled 900 IMT apprentices at an average starting wage of $18.50 an hour. By the end of the 18-month apprenticeship, the average hourly wage increases to $25.

In 2020, a return on investment study of the IMT program showed that every dollar an employer sponsor invested in the program yielded a return of $1.48.