(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) - More than 20 companies and over 100 representatives from a host of national and local employers, Labor Unions, and training providers were in attendance Tuesday (October 24th) at the 2017 Industrial Manufacturing Technician Forum in Buffalo, an event that featured expert speakers from across the nation who focused in on what the industry workforce needs today and tomorrow - including the Industrial Manufacturing Technician (IMT) Apprenticeship Program.

The event was hosted by the Western New York Apprenticeship Alliance - a coalition comprised of the American Apprenticeship Initiative of Western New York, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the United Steelworkers (USW), the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County, the Western New York AFL-CIO Area Labor Federation, the WNY Apollo Alliance, and the Workforce Development Institute.  The area coalition works to promote Registered Apprenticeships in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector in the WNY Region.

During the event, industry experts spoke on best practices to address current and future manufacturing workforce needs and the challenges in filling the skills gap and ways in which they have successfully done so. 

Speakers included reps from: the Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee; the BENTELER Automotive Corporation - a leading global company that develops, produces and sells products, systems and services for the automotive, energy and engineering sectors; the IAM; the Minnesota AFL-CIO; the New York State Department of Labor; Optimax Systems, Incorporated; and the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership.

The IMT Apprenticeship - a hybrid, competency-based training program used to address the skills gap in the manufacturing industry - helps employers fulfill the growing need for Skilled Advanced Manufacturing Production Workers.  As a nationally-recognized Apprenticeship, the program trains Front-Line Manufacturing Production Workers in skills that manufacturers look for – in settings as diverse as the aerospace, auto, food processing and optics industries.

“It went ‘very well’ and we were ‘over capacity,’” Catherine Muth, who serves as the Workforce Development Specialist/American Apprenticeship Initiative at the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County, told WNYLaborToday.com.  “It was a ‘great way’ to introduce IMT Apprenticeship Program and we’ll be looking to ‘follow up’ on the surveys that were filled out.  Our goal is to continue to provide options to those interested in the program who want to ‘pursue’ it.”

BENTELER U.S. Technical Training Manager Mark Melnik said at the event: “The IMT Apprenticeship is a ‘fundamental piece to our sustainability plan.’  The IMT Apprenticeship becomes the ‘first step’ in career development and progression for individuals ‘who want to pursue’ positions in supervision and leadership, higher levels of technical support roles, quality and other careers within our company.”

In 2015, the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County was awarded with a five-year, $2.97 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) to fund the American Apprenticeship Initiative of Western New York – a program that officials said would enhance existing Apprenticeships and create new registered Apprenticeships for high-demand occupations within the Advanced Manufacturing Industry.

The program is expected to serve a minimum of 300 new Apprentices and incumbent Workers, and train them for Machinists and Semi-Conductor Technicians, both high-demand occupations within the Advanced Manufacturing Industry.  The program is providing hands-on training and educational support, and reaching those who are underrepresented in the local workforce, including Veterans, diverse populations and individuals with disabilities. 

Earlier this year, several local representatives involved in the American Apprenticeship Initiative of Western New York sat down with WNYLaborToday.com to provide an update.

There are currently 15 Western New York Companies participating in the program, including at least two that employed Union-represented Workers, according to Holly Hutchinson, who serves as Project Director for the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County’s American Apprenticeship Initiative.  More than 30 Apprentices were enrolled in the program, she said, at the companies located in several Western New York and Rochester-area Counties, including Chautauqua, Erie, Monroe, Niagara and Wayne.

“We’ve had a ‘slow’ roll-out, but things are ‘starting to kick in,’” Hutchinson told Your On-Line Labor Newspaper.  “We’re ‘increasing’ our outreach efforts through a number of outlets, including the Workforce Investment Board, the Urban League and area community colleges.”

Retired USW District 4 Staff Representative Frank Hotchkiss, who sits on the Board of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County and was involved in securing the U.S. DOL Grant, told WNYLaborToday.com: “The ‘beauty is that there is no added expense’ for employers.  The individual training grant is ($3,500) and another ($750) is made available for supplies and tools.  Employers are ‘excited’ because their Employees ‘learn more and become more knowledgeable’ and ‘it all becomes part of a much bigger plan to attract more Workers to their companies.’”

Ed Kus, who serves as IAM Eastern Grand Lodge Representative, told Your On-Line Labor Newspaper: “We’re ‘getting the word out,’ making calls to our Business Representatives to ‘promote’ this program.  In the end it’s a ‘win-win’ for ‘everyone’ because once an employer ‘exhausts’ a pool of Workers, ‘where do they go’?  There’s ‘nothing’ inside America’s plants to ‘keep up with what’ a Worker ‘has to know when it comes to doing their job.’  There’s been ‘very little promotion’ of skills training.  ‘The more you learn the further you go.’”

The USDOL Grant is being administered by the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County.  Local project partners include a variety of business, education, Labor, government and community agencies, including: United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 897; Buffalo’s Public Schools; Erie Community College (ECC); the Buffalo Urban League; the Buffalo & Erie County Workforce Development Consortium; the Workforce Development Institute; and the New York State Department of Labor.

Aligning Apprenticeships to pathways for further learning and career advancement include hands-on Apprenticeships, where Workers earn and learn at the same time, are a proven path to good, secure Middle Class jobs, the U.S. Department of Labor said.  

The grants are also part of a broader U.S. Department of Labor commitment to advance Job-Driven Training Initiatives that help Workers acquire the skills they need to succeed in good jobs that are now available and will become and available in the future.

WNYLaborToday.com Editor’s Note: For more information on the Industrial Manufacturing Technician Apprenticeship, visit: www.imtapprenticeship.org/.  For more information on the American Apprenticeship Initiative of WNY, visit: www.uwbec.org/aaiwny.

For More On American Apprenticeship Initiative of Western New York, Read WNYLaborToday.com’s October 2015 Labor News Report Headlined: WNY Labor Praises Five-Year, $2.97 Million U.S. Department Of Labor American Apprenticeship Initiative Grant Awarded To United Way Of Buffalo & Erie County at http://www.wnylabortoday.com/news/2015/10/30/national-labor-news/update-wny-labor-praises-five-year-2.97-million-u.s.-department-of-labor-american-apprenticeship-initiative-grant-awarded-to-united-way-of-buffalo-erie-county/