{"id":945,"date":"2020-02-04T17:25:40","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T01:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/?p=945"},"modified":"2020-02-04T17:25:40","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T01:25:40","slug":"fame-develops-world-class-manufacturing-technical-talent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/training\/fame-develops-world-class-manufacturing-technical-talent\/","title":{"rendered":"FAME Develops World Class Manufacturing Technical Talent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over\nthe past several years, I\u2019ve written nearly 30 articles about programs that\naddress the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers. Last Friday, I had the\npleasure of being connected by a friend to interview Dennis Dio Parker, who heads up the Federation for Advanced\nManufacturing Education (FAME). The purpose<\/a> of FAME \u201cis\nto be the driving force for developing global-best technical talent for\nmanufacturing and other employers of technical workers.  FAME strives to\nbe a powerful conduit between industry and education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dennis\ntold me that according to the 2018 Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute\nSkills Gap and Future of Work study. \u201cThe Fourth Industrial Revolution is\ntransforming the world of work through artificial intelligence, advanced\nrobotics, automation, analytics, and the Internet of Things. Despite common\nfears, these technologies are likely to create more jobs than they replace\u2014as\nillustrated by the tight labor conditions in the US and global manufacturing\nindustry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While\nthere was a shortage of about 500,000 unfilled jobs in 2018 due to the skills\ngap of manufacturing workers, the \u201cstudy reveals that the skills gap may leave an\nestimated 2.4 million positions unfilled between 2018 and 2028, with a\npotential economic impact of 2.5 trillion.\u201d The reason why 2028 is a watershed\nyear for the age of workers is because the last of the Baby Boom generation (1946-1964)\nand the first of Generation X (1961-1981) would be starting to retire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dennis explained that the FAME Advanced Manufacturing Technician Program was an outgrowth of training that Toyota Motor North America provided for employees when they built their new manufacturing plant for vehicles in Georgetown, KY in 1987.\u00a0 Dennis was one of the first 13 trainers hired to start the training in 1987 and he is the last one still working of the original 13 as he transitions to support transfer of the program after The Manufacturing Institute and Toyota Motor North America announced<\/a> a partnership to hand-over operation and stewardship of FAME in September 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dennis added, \u201cToyota had the advantage of having a culture of continuous improvement, and we continually improve the program. The original vision was to have the training program set up at eight locations where Toyota has a manufacturing presence in North America. We wanted to have other manufacturers as partners in these regions to create a pool of skilled workers for all.\u00a0 Part of our goal was to help solve the problem of the lack of skilled workers, but the problem is too big and endemic for one program to solve.\u00a0 There are a lot of good programs, but FAME is different from the others in the way it is structured. This is an employer-led program, not an education-led program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When\nI asked how the training expanded out of Toyota, he said, \u201cIn 2005, Ernie\nRichardson and I made a proposal to Keith Bird, Kentucky Community Technical\nCollege Chancellor and Jim Kerley, BCTC President to build a new community\ncollege in Georgetown to introduce a new education program. The new campus\ndesign was established at NAPSC in 2006 and began operation with the first\nstudents in 2007. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With\nthe campus in place, we completed development of the Advanced\nManufacturing Technician program establishing an employer group to participate\nin it. I contacted Ken Carroll, then V. P. of the Kentucky Association of\nManufacturers, and worked with him to develop an\nemployer collaborative to support the AMT program. We held the first\ndiscussions with other companies in 2008 \u2013 2009, and by October we had formed\nan organization and elected officers. The first name was the Bluegrass\nManufacturing Development Collaboration. (B-MDC)\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nexplained why the program stalled, saying, \u201cThe Great Recession hit full force\nin 2009, and we decided to be inactive until business conditions improved.\nHowever, Toyota began the first AMT training class in August 2010 at the new\ncampus. By 2011, business conditions had improved to the point that Ken and I decided\nthat it was time to restart the B-MDC. On September 29, 2011, the group met\nagain. We had invited a number of special guests to help relaunch the effort,\nincluding Jennifer McNelly, president of the Manufacturing Institute; Wil\nJames, president of Toyota\u2019s Kentucky plant; Dr. Vince Bertram, national\npresident of Project Lead the Way; and Dr. Stanley Chase, a national expert on\neducational collaboration with business and industry. Since that meeting, the\nemployers group supporting the AMT Program has been in continuous operation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continuing,\nhe said, \u201cOther companies sponsored their first students in the AMT Program\nwith the class of 2012 when 3M, Central Motor Wheel Manufacturing, and GR\nSpring added their students. In March of 2013 the re-born B-MDC elected new officers,\ninstalling Terry McMichael of 3M as President and Danette Wilder of SealingLife\nas Vice President.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When\nI asked how the name was changed to FAME, he said, \u201cThe West Virginia Toyota\nplant started the AMT Program with their college and in close partnership with\nthe West Virginia Manufacturers Association (WVMA). When West Virginia governor\nannounced the start of the AMT Program, he also\nannounced \u201cWV FAME\u201d as the name for the future group of manufacturers which\nwould support AMT in West Virginia.  The\n\u201cFAME\u201d name was immediately recognized as a powerful promotional identifier for\nthe whole Advanced Manufacturing Career Pathways effort, and with permission of\nthe WVMA, we adopted FAME as the name for North American use, and the B-MDC\nvoted to change the name of the group to KY FAME.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nadded, \u201cOn January 14, 2014, Governor Steve Beshear announced the formal\nincorporation of KY FAME as a state-wide organization with a state board of\ndirectors to guide it and direct support of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic\nDevelopment. The Kentucky Community and Technical College System adopted AMT as\na state-wide degree track, available anywhere that a local FAME chapter formed.<\/s>\na KY FAME chapter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dennis\nexpressed that the results of the training were so compelling that the FAME\nsites became a destination for educators and educational researchers, business\nand industry, and news organizations. The AMT programs in Kentucky began\ncontributing to research and study efforts, and had over 1000 visitors from\nacross the U.S. and six foreign nations.  It was judged by many national educators and\nworkforce leaders to be the best 2-year technical program in the U.S.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nsaid, \u201cThe results of the program and the publicity fueled the growth beyond\nwhat Toyota ever expected. It became more than what Toyota could effectively\nsupport.  Toyota wanted to maintain what\nthey had, but wanted to establish it on a long-term basis. This is what led to\nthe program being transitioned to management by The Manufacturing Institute. In\norder to help make this transition successful, I am now on assignment by Toyota\nfor the next few years to manage the transition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dennis\nexplained, \u201cThere are currently 403 participating companies at 34 community college campuses and four universities in\n13 states, and the numbers are growing every year. The reason for the success\nis that the employer, not the student, is the\nnumber one customer and the profoundly higher\noutcomes of FAME AMT graduates compared to traditional graduates.  The program incorporates the six professional\nbehaviors, the seven essential behaviors, and the five professional practices,\nall soft skills, in addition to the manufacturing core exercises that are based\non five Lean manufacturing practices.  As\na result, the program provides globally competitive technicians that support\nthe success of U. S. manufacturing. The program is a core pipeline for students\nto continue to Advanced Manufacturing Business and Advanced Manufacturing\nEngineer degrees. In the AMT program, students go to school three days a week,\nand work for their sponsoring manufacturer two days a week.  The students are paid for their work, and the\nstudent makes enough to pay their tuition, so they can graduate without any\nstudent debt.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nelaborated on future strategies by saying, \u201cWe want to proactively change the\nequation for technical career pathways. \nWe have been partnering with Project Lead the Way (PLTW<\/a>) to engage PreK-12 students in the career pathway because they\nhave a comprehensive, seamless, and coordinated PreK -12 program\nnationwide.  Toyota and others are already providing plant tours to high\nschool students in PLTW programs. \nCurrently, the PLTW national office supports FAME with development or\nmaterial and other engagement activities and FAME supports the PLTW national\noffice with PR and involvement with activities on a regional basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\nalso partner with the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE<\/a>) because they focus on encouraging young woman and minorities to\nchoose STEM careers.  Their \u201cMake the\nFuture\u201d program, developed at our request, is connecting girls to\nmanufacturing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\ntold him this topic is dear to my heart as I have been a woman in manufacturing\nsince starting as an engineering secretary at age 18. I concluded the interview\nby saying it was a pleasure to learn about FAME and hope that it will expand\nwestward in the future all the way to California\nwhere I live.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the past several years, I\u2019ve written nearly 30 articles about programs that address the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers. Last Friday, I had the pleasure of being connected by a friend to interview Dennis Dio Parker, who heads up the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME). The purpose of FAME \u201cis to be the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,37,180],"tags":[98,240,238],"class_list":["post-945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-training","category-workforce-development","tag-career-technical-training","tag-manufacturing-skills","tag-skills-gap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=945"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":946,"href":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945\/revisions\/946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/savingusmanufacturing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}