Advancing the manufacturing technology
skills of tomorrow, today.

The Manufacturing Skills Institute (MSI), the workforce affiliate of the Virginia Manufacturers Association (VMA), is recognized as a “Competency Model in Action” by the Competency Model Clearinghouse. The Competency Model Clearinghouse is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA). The goal of the clearinghouse is to inform the public workforce system about the value, development, and uses of innovative competency models. According to the USDOL ETA, a competency model provides a clear description of what a person needs to know and be able to do – the knowledge, skills, and abilities – to perform well in a specific job, occupation, or industry. Read about MSI’s Competency Model.

Innovation and technological advances are rapidly transforming US manufacturing. Production is being streamlined and processes automated.  The skills required of “advanced” manufacturing workers have likewise evolved. The resulting “skill gaps” have produced 600,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs nationally. The MSI helps manufacturers to grow, attract and retain the workforce necessary to remain competitive in today’s competitive global marketplace.