Manufacturing Collaborative (MACWIC) Receives AIM’s Gould Award
The Manufacturing Advancement Center Workforce Innovation Collaborative (MACWIC), a voluntary association of more than 90 manufacturers and institutions organized to identify and solve workforce-related business needs, has been selected to receive the 2013 John Gould Education & Workforce Development Award at AIM’s 98th Annual Meeting.
The Manufacturing Advancement Center in Worcester is an affiliate of the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP).
The Collaborative is being honored for its groundbreaking work that led to the development of a competency-based standardized curriculum for precision machining that ensures that students will be able to meet prescribed industry standards, and can ultimately lead to a pathway to earn college credit.
The approval of a standardized curriculum has also led the Collaborative to create the Manufacturing Skills Academy – an industry-supported initiative to upgrade the skills of the current workforce of Collaborative participants. Currently, academy training modules in such subjects such as Shop Math, Blue Print Reading, CMC Mill Concepts, and Statistical Process Controls are being conducted in Worcester at the MassMEP office and the Worcester Technical High School, at the Shawsheen Valley Regional Vocational High School in Billerica, and locations of participating employers.
"AIM applauds the efforts of the Collaborative and its members for their efforts to develop employer-driven solutions such as developing industry recognized credentials, fostering communications within the manufacturing community, and promoting vocational education," said Associated Industries of Massachusetts’ CEO, Richard Lord. Moreover, Lord said, "As the Collaborative achieves success in upgrading the skills of its incumbent workforce; entry-level positions will open up, creating opportunity for new hires."
Lord said, "The development of a new, employer-driven workforce training initiative is critical in order to deal with impending retirements of the "baby boomer" generation, which are expected to create almost 100,000 manufacturing job vacancies in Massachusetts over the next ten years. For these reasons alone, AIM is delighted to honor the MACWIC with the 16th Annual Gould Award."
The annual Gould Award was created by AIM in 1998 to recognize the contributions of individuals, employers, and institutions for their efforts to improve public education and advancement, employability, and productivity of residents of the Commonwealth. Named for John Gould in 2000 upon his retirement as President and CEO of AIM, the award recognizes his many contributions to improve the quality of public education and workforce activities in Massachusetts.
As the 2013 winner of the Gould Award, the Manufacturing Advancement Center Workforce Innovation Collaborative joins past recipients John Rennie, founder of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education; Middlesex Community College; NYPRO, Inc.; William Edgerly, Chairman Emeritus, State Street Corporation; Northeastern University; The Davis Family Foundation; Intel Massachusetts; EMC Corporation; IBM Corporation; David Driscoll, former commissioner of the State Department of education; Raytheon Corporation’s MathMovesU program; State Street Corporation and Year Up Boston; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership M.O.S.T. Program; and Brockton High School.
Established in 1915, Associated Industries of Massachusetts is the largest nonprofit, nonpartisan association of Bay State employers. AIM’s mission is to promote the wellbeing of its members and their employees and the prosperity of Massachusetts by improving the economic climate of Massachusetts; proactively advocating for fair and equitable public policy; and providing relevant, reliable information and excellent services.
