Right Skills Now!

Looking for the rights skills now ... then look no further than the Right Skills Now: rapid ready training for manufacturing. In response to our talent crisis and the need to create jobs nationwide, The Manufacturing Institute, ACT, the National Institute of Metalworking Skills, and the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness have partnered to develop a nationally replicable fast-track solution to deliver just-in-time talent to small manufacturers.

Right from the website: Key principles of the Right Skills Now are fast-tracked, for-credit career training; industry credentials with value in the workplace; and, pathways to advancement and degrees. The Right Skills Now for Manufacturing builds on the success of the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System, which includes nationally portable, industry-recognized certifications that are combined with for-credit education programs. ACT’s National Career Readiness Certificate is the foundational credential of this stackable program while the NIMS credentials certify critical in-demand machining and metalworking skills. 

The result is a concise and comprehensive for-credit educational pathway to credentials that have immediate value in the workplace. Manufacturers gain accelerated access to skilled talent as well as an efficient and sustainable system for evaluating which candidates have the Right Skills Now, while students earn industry-recognized credentials and credit toward a degree — all while working. Those who are unemployed or under-employed can prove they have the Right Skills Now in a competitive job market.

The Right Skills Now initiative is currently prepping for a pilot program in the Minneapolis area through two colleges, Dunwoody College of Technology and South Central College. From here the goal is for a nationwide rollout to manufacturers small and large. Even though this initial model focuses on high-demand machining skills, the modular nature of the curriculum and stackable credentials easily accommodates build-outs in other areas of advanced manufacturing such as production or welding, and in every sector in the manufacturing economy from aerospace to food processing.