FLATE, partnered with the Manufacturing Skill Standards
Council (MSSC), AMATROL, JAEGER Corporation and the Florida Association for
Career and Technical Education (FACTE), on a MSSC CPT and CPT+ Workshop to
provide the latest on the MSSC Certified Production Technician (CPT) standards,
classroom implementation, and hands-on Skill Boss training. Twenty five attendees
from around Florida had the opportunity to participate in this workshop, hosted
by the Hillsborough Community College on April 11th and 12th. Sessions
included MSSC resources required to build a Florida talent pipeline in advanced
manufacturing and Transportation, Distribution and Logistics by Neil Reddy, CEO,
three hands on activities, mentored by D.C. Jaeger Corporation and Amatrol
personnel, that support each of the four MSSC assessments, a luncheon with
industry panel of employers, and last, but not least, a review of the Florida
Frameworks and MSSC alignments presented by Bob Blevins, from the Florida
Department of Education, who is the State Supervisor for Manufacturing.
The industry panel detailed how some companies used MSSC CPT
and the benefits, their need for skilled, knowledgeable workforce, they partner
with colleges and schools. Bayne Beecher
from PGT Industries, Peter Cirak from Seal Dynamics, Shannon Guzman with
Chromalloy, Shirley Dobbins from HCC Engineering Technology, Mercedes Ramirez-Cruz,
and Tam Onieluan, Heat Pipe Technology, Inc. made up the
distinguished industry panel.
The Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC), is a
non-profit industry-led, training, assessment and certification system focused
on the core skills and knowledge needed by the nation’s front-line production
and material handling technicians. The nationwide MSSC System, offers both
entry-level and incumbent workers the opportunity to demonstrate that they have
acquired the skills increasingly needed in the technology-intensive jobs of the
21st century.
The statewide articulation agreement in Florida provides 15
credit hours of the Engineering Technology Core for anyone enrolling in the
degree program and having a current CPT credential. Therefore, anyone in the
country who holds a valid MSSC-CPT credential can graduate with the A.S.
Engineering Technology degree after completing 45 instead of the required 60
credit hours.
The CPT+ Skill Boss
program is designed to prepare students with the next generation skills to work
in a computer-driven, data-intensive advanced manufacturing workplace. The
centerpiece of this new program is a new AMATROL training device which enables
MSSC to offer hands-on training and assessment as an enhancement to its CPT
training and certification system.
“Skill Boss” is a computer-controlled machine that performs a wide
variety of functions aligned with 55+ skills drawn from the MSSC’s National
Production Standards. The Skills Boss is especially helpful for those who have
little or no hands-on experience in the manufacturing workplace, including high
school students.
Manufacturing educators from around the state who answered
the survey, 100% (15) found the workshop to be of great professional
development value and anticipate that as a result of attending the workshop
they will share and use FLATE, Made in Florida, and MSSC available educational
resources, and. Over 95% of the attendees agreed that all aspects of the works were very good or excellent.
FLATE could not provide a workshop like this without help
from various contributors and we want to thank them all for their participation
and support: MSSC, D.C. JAEGER Corporation, AMATROL, HCC, and FACTE for
sponsoring educator’s travel. Thanks also to our speakers, instructors, and
industry panelists for their contribution to this successful workshop.
Some comments from participants:
“I
wanted to say thank you for a great workshop. Bringing in the employers was an
added bonus and it was a great networking opportunity for me. The employers
expounded on introducing careers to learners earlier than high school.”
“The
workshops are changing lives of scholars today, impacting earning potentials of
tomorrow and shifting future generations forever! Thank you so much for your
ongoing commitment and efforts to open unseen doors for thousands of young
people.”
For more information about MSSC, visit their website
or, locally in Florida, visit the D.C. Jaeger site. To learn more about FLATE and our educational
resources visit the FLATE website, sign up for our monthly FLATE Focus Newsletter,
or contact Dr. Marilyn Barger, FLATE Executive Director at barger@fl-ate.org.
Resources and presentations from the workshop will be posted on FLATE’s wiki.
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