Manufacturing Skills Certification: A New Fast Track for Regional Innovation (cont.)

Focusing on foundational skills

A unique feature of the MSSC system is that it is built upon standards for foundational skills and knowledge. It assesses and certifies individuals on their abilities in math, science, reading, listening, communicating, computer technology, analysis, problem solving, teamwork and basic technical skills, all in a manufacturing context.

The MSSC’s focus on foundational skills represents a paradigm shift in workforce development. Building upon the centuries-old tradition of the craftsman or artisan, industrial workforce education and training typically has rested on the assumption that an individual would spend a lifetime in a single occupation, such as machinist, mechanic, electrician, welder, tool and dye maker, metalworker or electronics technician.

MSSC is changing that tradition by certifying individuals who are equipped with the foundational skills needed to fill a wide variety of occupations over a lifetime. Innovative and often disruptive technologies will alter or eliminate existing occupations and create new ones at an accelerating rate. By definition, the next-generation workforce must be agile and fully capable of adapting to change.

System elements

Since its selection in 1998 as the “Voluntary Partnership” for the manufacturing sector by the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Skill Standards Board, the MSSC has been building the critical elements of its certification system. Those include:

• The creation of industry-led standards for all sectors of manufacturing, applicable to some 12 million production and production support workers (the only standards fully endorsed by the National Skill Standards Board);

• An on-line, state-of-the-art assessment piloted with 1,500 tests given in multiple regions of the nation;

• A system of industry-recognized credentials, including assessments in four areas – Manufacturing Processes and Production; Quality Assurance; Maintenance; and Health, Safety and Environmental Assurance – leading to full certification of “MSSC Production Technician;”

• A growing network of MSSC-authorized assessment centers; and

• A new textbook and instructor’s guide published in collaboration with Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, which provides a curriculum framework based on MSSC standards.

The textbook is a guide to mastering foundational skills in all 14 manufacturing sub-industries, helping workers identify and fine-tune skills for entering, advancing and moving confidently throughout the manufacturing industry. It includes manufacturing case studies and career and employment advice from industry employers and experts. The textbook is specially geared for certification by including a full page of MSSC Certification Test Prep practice items at the end of each chapter.

MSSC is a comprehensive, integrated system, grounded in skill and knowledge needs defined and validated by 4,000 front-line workers, 700 companies, and over 300 subject matter experts. The importance of a systems approach was underlined by a July 2005 RAND report, “Education and the New Economy,” which welcomed the rise of industry-led skill standards, but called for a “coherent system” within industry sectors.

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