April 2018
MiMfg Magazine
Talent-Seeking Employers Continue
to Rave Over PRIME® Potential
The prospect of an employer-driven, customizable
local talent solution has manufacturers across Michigan
talking. Every day, new employers are connecting
with MMA to learn more about the association’s
Partnership Response In Manufacturing Education
(PRIME®) initiative. PRIME® is a national effort from
the SME Education Foundation designed to build a
collaborative network of students, educators and
industry professionals to provide high school students
with advanced manufacturing career pathways.
In 2016, MMA began a partnership with the
SME Education Foundation to implement the nationally
renowned skills training program to help Michigan
employers develop talent pipelines for manufacturing.
“We really want to complement the vision of
harmonizing the missions of the school with the
local business community…and delivering not only
talented workers for the business community but
creating career pathways for students,” said Mike
Johnston, MMA vice president of government
affairs. “At MMA, we’ve noticed that manufacturers
and school districts don’t speak the same language.
We partnered with the SME Education Foundation
because we recognized them as translators — they
communicate between the business community and
educators so we can actually deliver what is needed
in local communities.”
Last summer, the first PRIME® partnership was
made official as Grand Haven-based manufacturer
Shape Corp. worked out an agreement with Grand
Haven Area Public Schools to develop a talent
pipeline to keep the region’s next generation
workforce in West Michigan.
“The MMA and SME’s PRIME® program caught
my eye because that’s the missing link — someone
who understands both ends of the employer-
educator partnership,” said Julie Davidson, talent
acquisitions manager for Shape Corp.
During last year’s press conference to announce
the Shape Corp./Grand Haven partnership, some of
Shape Corp.’s workforce spoke of the influence programs
like PRIME® can have to allow young people to
leverage education to further their career aspirations.
“I’m really proud that Shape is supporting
technical training in high school — kids have a lot
of important decisions to make after graduation and
these types of classes can help them determine what
they like and learn about different career options,”
said Amy King, a Shape employee and former
apprentice. “There are a lot of high paying, in-demand
jobs in manufacturing…[the PRIME® program]
can help them find their passion early and provide
them options they may not consider otherwise.”
“
I’m really proud that Shape is supporting
technical training in high school — kids have
a lot of important decisions to make after
graduation and these types of classes can
help them determine what they like and
learn about different career options.
— Amy King, Shape Corp.
”
The two sides of West Michigan’s talent
equation had a soft launch last winter at the Grand
Haven High School, taking two existing courses and
enhancing them to be pre-engineering courses for
design for manufacturing.
“It has been an amazing experience to be
working with Jeremy Case at Grand Haven High
School and Josh Cramer at SME PRIME® — the
collaboration, passion, and commitment to making
this partnership successful is within each of us and
that’s an awesome recipe for success,” said Davidson.
“I am super excited to implement the high school
internship and start to see students grow and learn.
This is career exploration at its finest!”
If you want to bring PRIME® into your local
community, contact Mike Johnston at 517-487-8554
or [email protected], or join MMA in Novi
on 5/9/18 for an informational breakfast prior to
the 2018 MFG Forum.
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Get More!
Don’t miss your opportunity to learn more about
what PRIME® can do for you at an informative
breakfast right before the MFG Forum on 5/9/18 in
Novi. Register today at mimfg.org .
And speaking of talent, save the date for MFG Day
on Friday, 10/5/18. See mfgday.com for details.
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