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News Release
ETA News Release: [05/12/2003]
Contact Name: Lorette
Post
Phone Number: (202) 693-3984
WASHINGTONThe 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. Todays 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 areasmetal 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 Departments 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.
Todays 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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