MechaFORCE: Registered Internship Manufacturing Program

1. MechaFORCE: Registered Internship Manufacturing Program Gale Tenen Spak, PhD Associate Vice President. Continuing Professional Education New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) spak@njit.edu November, 2016 Newport, RI

2. NJ Manufacturer-Driven Program for Talent, Career & Educational Pathway Development • Manufacturing’s resurgence in US not yet assured. • Select pro-active NJ manufacturers believed resurgence possible through adaptation of German Apprenticeship model (e.g. Baumer, GEA Mechanical, Sandvik Coromant, Stryker, German American Chamber of Commerce, Siemens & Festo Didactic). • Companies empower NJIT to implement approach to develop mechatronics professionals as exemplar of today’s “spotless, safe & sustainable” manufacturing environment. • Program initially called MechaFORCE (MFP) & designed to infuse industry-driven mechatronics skills into new Career and Educational Pathway to overcome workforce shortages.

3. NJ Manufacturing Situation • $31.8 billion in contribution by manufacturing to NJ’s Gross National Product, making up 63% of all output. • NJ manufacturing wages exceed by 18% those in NJ finance, insurance & real estate. • Annual income of NJ manufacturing workers is $80,000 & among the highest in State. • 250,000 NJ’ians employed in manufacturing. • 70% of remaining 11,000 NJ manufacturers cannot find skilled labor. • 2016 NJ manufacturing jobs = 5,100, first full year increase since continuous declines began in 1992

4. Why NJIT? • Manufacturing in university’s DNA, since founding in 1881 in Newark, NJ which once was 4th largest US manufacturing city. • 1 of 3 NJ public research universities & designated as US “Innovation and Economic Prosperity University” for excellence in talent development, innovation, and place. • ~12,000 student; STEM comprehensive,128 Bachelors to PhD degrees & sole NJ college with Bachelor’s compatible with German Apprenticeship model. • Since 1955, Continuing Professional Education (CPE) is NJIT’s Talent Development arm & since 2011 hosts Advanced Manufacturing Talent Network (M-NJ) funded by NJ.

5. Beginning Challenge -- 2014 Appropriately adapt German Dual Skills/Apprenticeship Model to NJ in environment where there is unfamiliarity with model, where meaning of apprenticeship differs in NJ vs Germany & where most remaining firms are craft manufacturers with <5 workers.

6. Opportunity & Focus in 2014 • Leveraged desperation of NJ manufacturers for talent & their access to funding (lacking among educators) to pay for staff dedicated to launching MFP. • Operated via MFP Advisory Board with majority seats held by companies familiar with German dual skills model. • Companies identified skills & competencies needed for one future-facing manufacturing occupation: Mechatronics. • Educators, also on MFP Advisory Board, dedicated to revising existing NJ mechatronics degrees to conform with employer’s needs & to include: • On & off-ramps leading to 60-credit Associate Degree & 130-credit NJIT Bachelor’s degree. • Courses taught covered topics compatible with industry-valued credentials (eg NIMS, Siemens & ISA). • Encouraged local high schools & community colleges in 8 of NJ 21 counties to offer MFP curricula to develop talent pipeline. • Enrollees expected to be part-time learners.

8. By April 2016 MFP Hit Road Block • Partners had begun searching for silver lining in NJ’s reality of tiny firms: --Smallness of NJ’s firms could make for nimbleness & superiority in customizing batch orders for larger firms on- & off-shoring. • Questions arose whether focus on mechatronics too narrow. • MFP ineffective in attracting students & training providers to offer training & education following “road-map”. “What’s in it for me???” • Companies did not see fast enough ROI to continue providing support. • MFP’s existence depended on funds provided by companies to permit hiring of dedicated professional to implement.

9. Where Program Stands Today • With flexibility & continuous improvement, MechaFORCE: Registered Internship Manufacturing Program (M-RIM) emerged from MFP lessons to meet both short & long-term talent acquisition goals & to enable pipeline development for wider variety of manufacturing occupations. • Progress/change enabled by ability to hire dedicated Manager, albeit part-time, still funded by industry.

10. Secret Sauce: Build M-RIM by Linking 4 Existing Infrastructures with NJIT Assets • ApprenticeshipUSA, US Department of Labor. • NJ Advanced Manufacturing Talent Network (M-NJ), under NJIT stewardship. • Manufacturing Institute’s Dream It./Do It (DIDI) Program, already part of M-NJ. • Cooperative (Collegiate) Education & Internship Association—NJ Chapter (NJCEIA).

11. #1 -- US Department of Labor ApprenticeshipUSA: M-RIM’s New Underlying Model • Like German approach, model is employer-driven & requires learners undergo on-the-job training plus classroom instruction. • Employees called Apprentices or, as M-RIM prefers, Registered Interns (RI’s). • Has flexible training strategy that is customizable to needs of every type business & can be integrated into current training & human resource development strategies. • Mantra is “earn and learn” where RI’s receive paycheck from day #1, so wages earned concurrent with learning on job & in classrooms.

12. US Department of Labor “ApprenticeshipUSA” Model, continued • >400,000 apprentices participate annually in ~20,000 RI programs across US. • Of 20,000 RI programs, several hundred in manufacturing occupations, each with existing & employer-driven standardized curriculum. • Encourages 3rd party to be intermediary or “Sponsor” of RI Program to ease paperwork/reporting etc. burden on companies. • NJ ApprenticeshipUSA Office, with 4 FT staff, available to help M-RIM.

13. #2 -- ManufactureNJ: NJ Advanced Manufacturing Talent Network (M-NJ) as M-RIM’s Intermediary Sponsor • Proposed in 2011 & operated by NJIT with NJ State funds, M-NJ connects NJ manufacturers to educators & public workforce system. • Focuses on creating & sustaining high quality, employer-driven partnerships which give manufacturers upper hand with government & educators to set funding priorities & enacting supportive policies to help them remain in NJ. • Has FT Director, 3 PT managers including new professional dedicated to M-RIM & access to NJ Labor staff.

14. #3 -- Dream It/Do It (DIDI) Program as M-RIM’s Strategy to Meet Longer-term Talent Acquisition • DIDI, now in 30 States, & in NJ since 2012 due to M-NJ. • Youngsters, teachers, parents & guidance counselors in K-12 gain access to national support & resources to aid efforts to attract students into manufacturing careers. • Has fully-conceived & locally-tailorable marketing collaterals & in- & after-school exercises to help change youngster’s perception of manufacturing to safe, spotless & sustainable from dangerous, dirty & dead-end. • In 2015, US network successfully engaged: 426,000 students. 76,000 influencers (parents and educators) & 8,600 manufacturers. • DIDI staff from Washington DC-Based Manufacturing Institute available to help M-RIM.

15. #4 -- Cooperative (Collegiate) Education & Internship Association (NJCEIA) as M-RIM’s Strategy to Meet Shorter-term Talent Acquisition • NJCEIA encourages NJ colleges to adopt concept of Cooperative Education (Co-Ed) & Internships. • Builds partnerships among & provides support to all NJ Cooperative Education colleges & employers. • Fully-staffed college “Career Development Services Offices” work with 18-22 undergraduates & older alumni seeking Internships. • These offices willing to help M-RIM shape variation of their internship programs to be consistent with ApprenticeshipUSA standards.

16. M-RIM: Remaining True to Core Objectives but With Strength from Linked Infrastructures • Program remains focused on hands-on learning plus formal education from NJ educational institutions—essence of German model. • Formal education based on existing ApprenticeshipUSA industry-driven curricula which M-RIM makes available to faculty across NJ K-12 schools & 2- & 4-year colleges. • Hands-on learning occurs at participating companies. • M-RIM’s capacity to help companies maximized by DIDI to build longer-term talent pipeline (DIDI), by NJCEIA to meet shorter term talent needs, & M-NJ (as RI Sponsor) to ease company’s administrative burden. • Management of complexity of linking existing infrastructures & growing M-RIM facilitated by dedicated staff & NJIT.