NMRI – The Nevada Manufacturing Recruitment Initiative

Nevada is very fortunate in having a healthy growing economy with manufacturing growing disproportionally quickly as manufacturers move into the state because of its very favorable business environment.

Unfortunately, the growth of the workforce has not been able to keep up with the growth of manufacturing and it has put a serious strain on manufacturers’ recruiting efforts.

Challenges include a serious shortage of job applicants, applicants who don’t have needed hard and soft skills, and applicants who don’t have the ability to learn and apply new knowledge in a fashion necessary to fill the job openings. 

Addressing The Situation

To address the situation, NMRI (Nevada Manufacturing Recruitment Initiative) was formed with the mission of identifying people who have the ability to acquire hard and soft skills and having them step up into 21st century manufacturing careers. They include people who are underemployed, dislocated, unemployed, or who simply want to start a growth-oriented career.

Initial NMRI stakeholders included Manufacture Nevada (Nevada’s association of manufacturers); Nevada manufacturers; The Governor’s Office Of Workforce Innovation; Nevada’s Libraries (with their Career Explorer platform); and NCLab. Each NMRI member in turn committed to the initiative’s success.

Manufacture Nevada informed manufacturers of the initiative and encouraged them to participate. 

Manufacturers defined hard and soft skills they look for when recruiting new employees. 

NCLab provided its proven Career Readiness Assessment gratis to NMRI to identify people who can learn and apply new knowledge and have the drive and commitment to complete 160 hours of training that fully prepares them to fill 21st century manufacturing jobs.

NCLab developed a new Automation Technician career training program for this initiative. It trains people in automation-related skills that include Workplace Math, Data Literacy, Computational Literacy, Spatial Literacy, (and Blueprint Reading, Introduction to AI, and Introduction to CNC, as electives); they are the hard skills that manufacturers want new hires to have. It also teaches them foundational soft skills that include, among others, problem solving, attention to detail, critical and logical thinking, perseverance, professional communication, time management, and adaptability that manufacturers put large value on.

GOWINN  provided a grant to cover the cost of the training and that grant was further supplemented by Nevada’s Workforce Development boards.

NMRI In Operation

With the initiative now fully in operation, candidates take the NCLab Career Readiness Assessment at various locations that include Nevada libraries, EmployNV offices, and even at home, to determine if they have the right aptitude and interest to step into a growth-oriented manufacturing career.

Nevada state colleges offer NCLab’s Automation Technician career training program through their continuing education departments.

Nevada’s Workforce Development provides tuition reimbursement for NCLab’s Automation Technician training program.

Nevada manufacturers queue up using NCLab’s Employer Recruitment Portal to gain access to graduates of NCLab’s Automation Technician training program.

In quick succession, added workforce development players have stepped up and are helping to get the word out that the initiative is a significant opportunity for people who are underemployed, dislocated, unemployed, or who simply want to start a growth-oriented career. They include, among others, EmployNV, the Chambers of Commerce, JOIN, NNLC, NNDA, J4NG, the Nevada Unemployment Department, and high schools throughout Nevada.

As Gerd Poppinga, President of advanced manufacturing company Vineburg Machining, recently stated, “It’s amazing what gets accomplished when everyone is working together”. 

More Information

To learn more about this initiative, schedule a call below or fill the Get-In-Touch form below.

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