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ETA News Release: [05/12/2003]
Contact Name: Lorette
Post
Phone Number: (202) 693-3984
U.S. Labor Department Awards $1.9 Million Grant for New
Metalworking Apprenticeship Program
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Labor Department has awarded a $1.9
million grant to the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) to give
a 21st century facelift to existing metalworking apprenticeship
programs. The new model will use industry proficiency standards established by
NIMS to provide a consistent credentialing system for metalworking
occupations.
“This Administration wants to help young people starting out as
well as displaced workers looking for new opportunities to get into good jobs
with promising futures,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.
“Today’s grant will help targeted workers to quickly develop the
needed skills and competencies to move up the career ladder of their
choice.”
The grant will allow NIMS to develop curriculum guides for the four
metalworking occupational areas—metal forming, machining, tool and die
making, and machine building. The guide will address competencies required,
standardized paths to move up or within an occupational area, and ways to move
across metalworking occupations.
Students enrolled in the program will receive national credentials that
are consistent across the industry and can be used by metalworking companies in
making recruitment, hiring, training and promotional decisions.
Unlike time-based apprenticeship programs, the competency based program
will allow motivated workers to move at a quicker pace in acquiring the skill,
knowledge and ability needed to advance.
Working with the Labor Department’s Office of Apprenticeship
Training, Employer and Labor Services, NIMS hopes to take the model
apprenticeship program to companies, training providers and association members
nationwide. The organization also plans to use local One-Stop Career Centers to
recruit job seekers for training and career opportunities in the metalworking
industry.
“Today’s training programs must be flexible, competency-based,
economical and efficient in order to move people quickly into good jobs with
good futures,” said Emily Stover DeRocco, assistant secretary of labor for
employment and training. “This apprenticeship program is unique in that it
gives job seekers an opportunity to advance along a career path at their own
pace and provides incumbent workers with a map for promotion or career change
within the industry.”
NIMS represents over a dozen industry partners, including the
Association for Manufacturing Technology, the national Tooling and Machining
Association and the Tooling and Manufacturing Association.
The Labor Department grant is leveraged by $7.4 million in private
investment funds used to develop the skill standards system that will be the
technical basis of the updated, competency-based apprenticeship program.
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