Workforce Development & Training

It's hard for Babatunde Ogunnaike to contain his excitement at the thought of a new federal grants program aimed at improving the U.S. manufacturing workforce. Last week, President Barack Obama signed the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a bill setting policy for all activities at the Department of Defense (DOD). Buried within the 969 pages of legislation (S. 2943) is a manufacturing engineering education program to be run by the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Ogunnaike, dean of engineering at the University of Delaware (UD) in Newark, has been an advocate for the program ever since two Washington, D.C.–based think tanks first floated it 4 years ago as a network of manufacturing universities.

Students at the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools in East Brunswick, N.J., recently earned some media attention for making a device that enables a disabled man to toss a ball from his wheelchair and play fetch with his service dog.

A partnership between AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, McLean, Va., and the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) is expected to increase access to apprenticeships and assist employers in developing new programs that reach diverse talent pools, according an AMT news release issued Nov. 15.

Emuge Corp. has announced the opening of a new technology center, located at the company's North American headquarters in West Boylston, MA, USA. The center, designed to be a full-service resource for manufacturers to apply cutting tool application strategies, is equipped with the latest 3 and 5-axis vertical machining centers, precision measuring devices and tool monitoring, in addition to an interactive classroom for training and seminars. The technology center will serve customers across the U.S. and Canada, enabling manufacturing professionals to test cut their applications and develop milling, drilling, and threading strategies to optimize tool life and performance and reduce cycle times.

The Make & Elevate Manufacturing Leadership Series will take place September 12-14 to coincide with IMTS (International Manufacturing & Technology Show). The series offers two components: the three-day "Mastermind Forum" and a "One-Day to Elevate Workshop," both designed to help manufacturing leaders take their businesses to the next level.

The Gleason Corp., Rochester, N.Y., recently donated $300,000 to establish two doctoral fellowships that will be incorporated into the engineering program at the Kate Gleason College of Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

To enable junior and senior high school students to follow a specific direction in the manufacturing industry, their education must be diverse. Ensuring such diversity is the goal of the Machine Technology Program at Cuyahoga Valley Career Center, Brecksville, Ohio, according to Rich Parrott, machine technology instructor.