October Manufacturing Month was a big success for the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council.
The Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) met some significant milestones during this year’s October Manufacturing Month. The non-profit MSSC provides industry-wide training and certifications in advanced manufacturing and logistics, and is the only national certification body accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) under ISO 17024.
Manufacturing Milestones
The MSSC met three key milestones during October Manufacturing Month.
First, it exceeded its 2016 targets for 1,700 MSSC-trained instructors and 1,000 MSSC-authorized assessment centers, which span 49 states (excluding Alaska) as well as two locations in Mexico. The assessment centers are primarily located in high schools and community colleges, and many are military-friendly.
Second, the MSSC issued over 100,000 credentials to around 50,000 individuals under the MSSC Certified Production Technician (CPT) and Certified Logistics Technician (CLT) programs.
The CPT program consists of five certificate modules: Safety, Quality Practices & Measurement, Manufacturing Processes & Production, Maintenance Awareness, and Green Production (only the first 4 are required for full CPT Certification). The CLT program is composed of two parts: the foundational-level Certified Logistics Associate (CLA) Certificate and the mid-level technical CLT Certification.
Lastly, the MSSC has received the first data from its pre-release program in federal and state prisons. The data shows a recidivism rate of just 12 percent for individuals who secured CPT credentials while in prison, compared to the national recidivism rate of 76.7 percent.
In addition to meeting these milestones, the MSSC had a number of other notable successes during October Manufacturing Month. The MSSC issued the 2016 edition of its Production and Logistics Standards, available through the MSSC website; it met its goal of giving CLA and CLT training and testing to over 4,300 active duty members of the Armed Services, as well as members of the Guard and Reserves; and the council received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to help Florida high school students obtain CPT certification and earn college credit.
For more on manufacturing standards, read Why the Skills Gap Might Not Be Manufacturing’s Biggest Problem.