NIMS wins federal contract to grow apprenticeships in manufacturing

The National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS), a Fairfax, Va.-based developer of skills standards and credentials for the manufacturing industry, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Labor as an industry intermediary to support the expansion of registered apprenticeships within manufacturing. The National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA), Cleveland, has announced it will partner with NIMS in this program.

NIMS and NTMA will work with industry, workforce, and education partners to increase access to apprenticeships and assist employers in developing new programs that reach diverse talent pools. As part of this initiative, $500,000 is available to support companies in establishing a registered apprenticeship program with the DOL.

“This contract gives us the unique opportunity to create more impact in our industry by expanding apprenticeships to underrepresented populations and to new companies looking to establish a sustainable talent pipeline,” said Jim Wall, executive director of NIMS.

NIMS will focus on providing companies with tools and resources to develop customized registered apprenticeship programs. These programs combine on-the-job training with job-related classroom instruction and meet national standards for registration with the DOL or state apprenticeship agencies.

NTMA will help members establish or register apprenticeship programs with the DOL using its online training resource, NTMA-U. The organization also will assist members with existing programs to become registered apprenticeship programs.

As part of the contract, NIMS will support the expansion of registered apprenticeship programs by equipping companies with the necessary information to design and implement a registered apprenticeship program, supporting companies and industry groups in completing the registration process, and creating new avenues for employers to share best practices on the creation of registered apprenticeship programs.

Companies that are interested in building an apprenticeship program or organizations that are interested in partnering with NIMS can visit www.mfgapprenticeship.com or email the NIMS ApprenticeshipUSA team at apprenticeship@nims-skills.org for more information.