Massachusetts MEP: Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2007

For more information please contact:
Jack Healy
MassMEP
Tel: 508-831-7020

MASS MEP’S MOBILE TRAINING UNIT SHOWS LT. GOVERNOR MURRAY HOW MANUFACTURERS, YOUNG TRAINEES CAN BENEFIT THE M.O.S.T.
State-of-the-Art Mobile Outreach Skills Training Mobile Training Unit, Equipped to Help Fill Numerous CNC Machine Operator Positions, Recently Traveled to State House

BOSTON, MA - Leaders in the manufacturing industry are claiming more and more of Massachusetts’ young people are losing interest in manufacturing. With the need to fill jobs in machine shops across the Commonwealth at a critical level, that fact comes as bad news to the hundreds of manufacturers in the state.

The Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP) is aiming to fill those vacant positions in facilities across the state, using the Mobile Outreach Skills Training program, commonly called “M.O.S.T.” M.O.S.T. uses a Mobile Training Unit (MTU) to train young, and out-of-work individuals to fill a number of vacant computerized numerical-control (CNC) machine operator positions and other general manufacturing positions that are in high-demand at manufacturing companies in the state. Last Wednesday, the M.O.S.T. MTU traveled to the steps of the Massachusetts State House and opened its doors for demonstrations and tours.

“We had a number of people, including aids from State Representative Daniel Bosley’s office and from Representative Paul Casey’s office, stop in to see what the MTU was all about,” said Ted Bauer, machine project coordinator of the MassMEP. “Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray spent a lot of time with us, asking questions. He understands the need for critical skills training in the manufacturing sector and we are thankful for his support in our endeavor to fill manufacturing positions in the Bay State.”

The M.O.S.T. training program is conducted in two phases. In Phase One, trainees participate in an intensive 80-hour basic operator skills training process, which is followed by Phase Two, a 60 day on-the-job training process. This is the next phase of the skills training program, which was originally funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

“With less and less vocational schools in the state offering machining as a trade curriculum, the MassMEP’s M.O.S.T. program is a valuable resource. It provides the employer with potential employees, and provides trainees with the foundation skills needed to begin work at a manufacturing facility,” added Bauer.

The MassMEP is an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the U.S. Department of Commerce. The national MEP system is a network of manufacturing extension centers that provide business and technical assistance to smaller manufacturers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Through MEP, manufacturers have access to more than 2,000 manufacturing and business “coaches” whose job is to help firms make changes that lead to greater productivity, increased profits and enhanced global competitiveness. For more information, please visit www.massmep.org, or phone 1-800-MEP-4MFG.

ABOVE: Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership’s (MassMEP) Mobile Training Unit, a necessary tool for their M.O.S.T. (Mobile Outreach Skills Training) program, travels to the State House for tours and demonstrations. Pictured left to right: State Representative Paul Casey; MassMEP trainer Matthew Healy, Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray; MassMEP Director of Operations Jack Healy; and MassMEP Machine Project Coordinator Ted Bauer. M.O.S.T.’s Mobile Training Unit is used to train potential workers with necessary job skills needed to fill a number of vacant computerized numerical-control (CNC) machine operator positions and other general manufacturing positions that are in high-demand at manufacturing companies in the state.

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