Message from MMIT Advanced Manufacturing Learning Community

Champion Kathy Conklin

Dear Learning Community Members: 

Because we know how valuable your time is, after our last meeting we decided not to meet again until there was something to meet about.  Well, lots of exciting things have been happening that we would like to share with you; get your input; and see if our Learning Community could help.

Since we met, a task team was formed consisting of representatives from the Center for Automotive Research, the Council for Labor and Economic Growth, the Advanced Manufacturing Regional Skills Alliances, the Department of Labor and Economic Growth, the Mid Michigan Innovation Team, and our Learning Community.  The purpose of the task team is to help align our efforts and maximize our resources.

 As part of this alignment, there are three key efforts that we would like to discuss with you. They are:

 The Center for Automotive Research has released it’s year long study, “Beyond the Big Leave, The Future of U.S. Automotive Human Resources”.  It contains good news in terms of the hiring forecast for the automotive industry.  In addition, the findings have many implications for economic development officials and educational institutions.  

The Industry Sectors Committee of the Council for Labor and Economic Growth held roundtable discussions in 2005 and 2006 to identify the challenges facing the manufacturing industry.  In 2007, the committee used the information gathered in those meetings, along with labor market information, to develop a set of recommendations to help tackle the workforce issues facing the industry.

At its December 2007 meeting, the Council for Labor and Economic Growth recommended the adoption of the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC), based on ACT WorkKeys, as the preferred tool for a statewide work readiness credential. 

Please join us to find out more about these important initiatives and to discuss how we could align our efforts on Friday, April 25 from 1 pm to 3 pm at the Victor Office Center, 3^rd floor, conference rooms A and B at 201 N. Washington Square, Lansing Please RSVP to MMIT Learning Community Coordinator Cassie Alley at c.alley@primacivitas.org.

We hope you to see you on April 25^th.