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Building Our Future

TOGETHER

WORKFORCE INITIATIVES

A top concern facing DRMA members and the manufacturing industry is the lack of a qualified workforce. DRMA faces this challenge head-on by driving and supporting numerous initiatives to promote careers in manufacturing and align workforce efforts across the region.

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DRMA supports member workforce initiatives through help planning, logistics, pre-event promotions as well as post event marketing visibility. Connect with Amy to learn more.

Industry Credentials

Career Awareness ​

Student Tours Year-Round

DRMA encourages and helps members conduct tours to ignite students' interest in exciting, high-skill, high-pay, high-tech manufacturing careers.

 

If you and your facility fit these criteria:

  • You are a manufacturer

  • You are tired of having trouble recruiting talent and are ready to take action

  • Would a 13-year-old walk into your facility and say, “Wow, this is cool!” 
     

Then:

Host tours for students, educators, and parents so they can see first-hand that contemporary manufacturing is a vibrant career path and that employers need skilled workers!  You can host tours on national MFG Day (the first Friday in October), during Ohio’s Manufacturing Month (October), and on any other day that works for you and your school partners!

 

Here's what you need to do to schedule your student tour:

Members get help with conducting a successful tour and connecting with schools.

We’d welcome the chance to assist and promote your workforce initiative. Click HERE to connect with DRMA.

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Student Tour Spotlight

If you’ve recently hosted a tour, let us know! We want to promote your outreach to students. Click HERE to submit your tour data. If you are interested in hosting a student tour, click HERE. DRMA would like to help. Scroll to see the current list of companies that have recently hosted a tour!

Student Internships and Job Shadows​

Members’ #1 issue is finding enough qualified employees.  Your next generation of workforce is in our region’s high schools and universities. Taking advantage of work-based learning programs, such as offering job shadow or internship opportunities to students exposes them to the great careers the region’s manufacturing industry offers AND is a powerful strategy to build your future workforce.

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Job Shadows

An easy way to build the next generation of manufacturing talent is through job shadows. Bringing students into your facility to learn about cool careers in manufacturing can reap dividends down the road. Job shadows are short (2-4 hours) and an easy tactic to help students envision manufacturing as a future career path. If you are interested in learning more, let us know and we’ll discuss with you about details.

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Internships

Offering students part-time paid internships provides a risk-free way to evaluate potential employees. In fact, 70% of interns convert to permanent employees! DRMA collaborates with SOCHE who will work with you to find an intern that matches your needs, manage the administrative work, and often has grant money to offset the cost of your intern. SOCHE can help you understand the laws, work with you to build job descriptions and take student management off your plate.  If you are interested in starting or growing a work-based learning internship program in your company, reach out to SOCHE and they can help you get off the starting line.

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The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce created a comprehensive GUIDE for employers who want to start a work-based learning program.

 

We’d welcome the chance to assist and promote your job shadows and internships. Click HERE to connect with DRMA.

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Power Lunches, Career Fairs, and Speaking Events

DRMA conducts activities with students and educators to expose them to careers in manufacturing. Activities include exhibits during lunchtime at middle and high schools and at career fairs, speaking in classrooms, and hands-on activities during summer camps and other events. DRMA volunteers deliver messages about career paths, wage and salary information, and training and education paths. We partner with Educational Service Centers across the region.
 
Interested in volunteering? Click HERE to connect with DRMA.

Career Awareness

Industry-Recognized Credentials 

What are Manufacturing Industry-Recognized Credentials? And why YOUR company should care.

DRMA members consistently report that their Number 1 concern is that they cannot find workers with the skills required for today’s advanced workplaces. The skills gap is widening as companies scramble to find qualified employees, and new hires who are not the right fit can mean companies losing out after spending hundreds of hours recruiting, onboarding, and training.

 

The use of manufacturing industry-recognized credentials is one way to help address the skills gap challenge and ensure your workforce is made up of the most qualified employees. Industry credentials ensure that the credential holder has met the industry benchmark for their specific occupational competency. For new hires, industry credentials can be used as screening tools for knowledge, skills, and abilities to do the job well; and for current workers, industry credentials can help bolster their skills and keep them at the top of their trade.

 

There are many reputable manufacturing-related credentials out there to meet your company’s needs. Some of note include Tooling U – SME’s Certified Manufacturing Associate credential; the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council’s (MSSC) Production Technician Certification (CPT); the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) credentials; and the American Welding Society’s professional certifications.

 

Whichever certifications you choose based on your employee skills requirements, your company will be better positioned to identify qualified applicants for open positions and to improve the skills of your existing workforce. DRMA is working with educators across the region to incorporate industry credentials into their curriculum.

 

What Should You Do?

  1. Add preferred credentials to your job postings!

  2. Watch for IRCs on candidates’ and student interns’ resumes!

 

TechCred - Reimbursement for Training

TechCred is Ohio's workforce program that offers Ohio employers thousands of dollars in reimbursement for a wide variety of short-term, industry-recognized tech credentials across industries AT NO COST! – from computer software programs like Microsoft Excel and Adobe to more intensive technology training programs involving digital programming and robotics. These technology-focused credentials take less than a year to complete and prepare current and future employees for in-demand jobs. Many of these trainings can be completed online!

 

Employers can be reimbursed $2,000 per industry-recognized credential (not just per employee) and up to $30,000 per application period (every other month). This means Ohio employers not taking advantage of TechCred reimbursement could be missing out on up to $180K worth of free training per year!

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For the credential itself to qualify, it must be:

  • Industry-recognized

  • Tech-focused and short-term – completed within 12 months or less.

 

Get started by talking with DRMA partner educational institutions.  They will work with you to figure out what training you need and which of their programs qualify for TechCred reimbursement.  They will even help you fill out the application:

 

Learn more by visiting https://techcred.ohio.gov/about

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Tooling U-SME Discount

We have great news for your training budget!  DRMA is officially partnering with Tooling U-SME (TU) to offer our members a 15% discount on hundreds of courses for upskilling your workforce! TU has over 90 years’ of experience in training manufacturers, and we are very excited to offer this benefit to our members.

 

If you are interested in learning more about what courses are best fit for your training needs, we will connect you with our partners at TU to discuss further! Because this is a DRMA member benefit, you will purchase the subscriptions through us. Please contact Amy HERE if you are interested.  

Ready to Hire

Ready-to-Hire Candidates

Building Our Pipeline. Together.

WorkAdvance is a grant-funded program to create a pipeline of talent for your entry-level manufacturing positions from our region’s untapped workforce.  WorkAdvance is a proven initiative to recruit individuals with no manufacturing experience; it intentionally seeks out those who aren’t currently applying.

 

We are working with community-based organizations that are recruiting, screening, training, and coaching people to fill your entry-level manufacturing positions.  

 

Interested in participating in this no-cost recruitment source? Contact Susan today!

 

Learn more about the grant that funds this program HERE.​

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Training Education
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