Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance
The Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance offers technical assistance and business advice, helping companies become progressively more successful. Through our statewide network of manufacturing extension agents and applications engineers, services focus on improving the bottom line while growing the entire business. We live and work in communities across Oklahoma, taking our support to your workplace on your schedule. Refer to Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance for information on LEAN assistance, Oklahoma’s annual manufacturing conference, and the annual national manufacturing day.
National Association of Managers
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs nearly 12 million men and women, contributes more than $1.8 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, has the largest economic impact of any major sector and accounts for two-thirds of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States.
Manufacturing Institute
The Manufacturing Institute is a Washington, DC-based organization dedicated to improving and expanding manufacturing in the United States. We are affiliated with the National Association of Manufacturers and can best be described as part think tank, part solutions center. In partnership with some of the leading consulting firms in the country, the Institute studies the critical issues facing manufacturing and then applies that research to develop and identify solutions that are implemented by companies, schools, governments, and organizations across the country.
- Get Skills to Work: Military to Manufacturing – With hundreds of thousands of open manufacturing jobs, veterans are a great choice for the in-demand, high-skilled careers that manufacturers have to offer. More than 82 percent of manufacturers report they cannot find people to fill their skilled production jobs. Meanwhile thousands of service men and women return home each month, possessing not only an unmatched work ethic but also rigorous technical training and experience. The Manufacturing Institute joined GE, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Alcoa and other partners to train military veterans for advanced manufacturing careers. GSTW is helping our service members translate military experience to the specific skills needed in the industry, and train for the skills they do not yet have. With over 400 small-, medium-, and large-sized manufacturers, including Boeing and Lockheed Martin, along with academic and not-for-profit partners, the GSTW coalition has issues a goal to reach 100,000 veterans by 2015.
- NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System – Close the Skills Gap! Take Action Now! 82% of manufacturers report a moderate or serious shortage in skilled production workers.75% of manufacturers say the skill shortage has negatively impacted their ability to expand. 600,000 jobs in manufacturing are unfilled today because employers can’t find workers with the right skills. To help close the growing skills gap, the Manufacturing Institute has launched the NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System. This system of nationally portable, industry-recognized credentials validates both the “book smarts” and the “street smarts” needed to be productive and successful on the job.
- The M-List recognizes high schools, community colleges, technical schools, and universities that are teaching manufacturing students to industry standards. Specifically, these schools offer students the opportunity to earn NAM-Endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certifications as a standard part of their manufacturing education programs.