The CAPITAL program is designed to address the anticipated two million worker shortage in manufacturing with more than $6 million in Federal funding provided.
MxD announced the launch of the Curriculum and Pathways Integrating Technology and Learning (CAPITAL) skill development program. The CAPITAL program, which is supported by $6.2 million in federal funding, is designed to address the anticipated two million worker shortage in the manufacturing workforce and provide resources directly aimed at meeting current and emerging workforce needs.
In executing this program, MxD will develop certification-based manufacturing training courses and extend them to manufacturers, including those within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB). CAPITAL will help current students and workers and future members of the workforce develop the skills and training they need to ensure the DIB can effectively deploy advanced manufacturing technologies within U.S. factories, strengthening national security and increasing U.S. manufacturing’s global competitiveness. CAPITAL will include courses and certifications that train workers for the most critical digital manufacturing roles of today and tomorrow, including artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity for manufacturing.
“Manufacturers cannot effectively digitize without identifying the workforce of the future,” said Berardino Baratta, CEO of MxD in a press release. “Eighty percent of U.S. manufacturers ranked attracting and retaining a quality workforce as one of their greatest challenges. CAPITAL will both properly prepare the future workforce and bring current workers up to speed. The future of U.S. manufacturing hinges on our collective ability to close, or at least narrow, the impending skills gap.”
Courses and trainings will support foundational roles that provide workers an opportunity to grow in meaningful careers and employers the opportunity to adopt emerging technologies for use within their facilities. Additionally, MxD will share the content with a broad audience, including academia, for its own use, dissemination, and adoption.
“Only companies that invest in their workforce will survive long-term in the new ‘normal’ of manufacturing with its disrupted supply chains, constant cyber threats, and the need for exponentially improved productivity to overcome the demographic workforce shortages created by an aging workforce and falling birthrates around the world,” said Mary Isbister, Owner of GenMet Corp and Chair of MxD’s Board of Directors. “Programs like MxD Learn’s CAPITAL are essential to ensuring U.S. manufacturers not only survive but thrive.”
As part of the CAPITAL program, MxD will launch the MxD Learn Advisory Committee and include diverse representation from manufacturing workforce thought leaders from key industry, academic, and government partners. The committee will drive the execution of the MxD Learn CAPITAL strategy and outcomes as well as overall MxD Learn workforce strategy. The Learn Advisory Committee will be tasked with supporting role prioritization of course development and helping drive and refine metrics for the program’s success.
– Edited from an MxD press release by CFE Media and Technology.
