MassMEP’s M.O.S.T.® Program to Receive AIM’s 2011 Gould Award
The Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MassMEP) Mobile Outreach Skills Training (M.O.S.T. ®) Program has been selected to receive Associated Industries of Massachusetts’ John Gould Education & Workforce Development Award for 2011. The presentation will take place at AIM’s 96th Annual Meeting & Luncheon on May 13th at the Waltham Westin Hotel. “We are pleased to be honoring the MassMEP, our partner in the AIM Manufacturing Institute and other initiatives, for a program that not only assists our members in the manufacturing sector and creates much needed employment opportunities, but also career awareness and study of STEM subjects among Massachusetts students,” said AIM president and CEO Rick Lord.
M.O.S.T. ® is an intensive skills training, recruitment, assessment and placement program providing accelerated perpetration for entry level production jobs such as machine operations, assembly and quality inspection. The program is completely customized to the needs of the participating employer, the local area and the type of job candidates being served.
The program begins with in-depth screening to the requirements of the employer. Employers interview the pre-qualified candidates and make a job offer contingent upon successful completion of the Phase 1 two-week training. The M.O.S.T. ® training has three phases. Two weeks of intensive training, using a state-of-the-art mobile training unit (MTU), covers shop math, blueprint reading, metrology, lean to green manufacturing, hands on computer numerically-controlled operation and content customized to the employers’ needs. Candidates then begin the pre-identified jobs and participate in eight weeks of structured on-the-job training, followed by a four month mentorship and retention program. This system has produced remarkable results in terms of completion (99%), placement (93%) and job retention (87%).
Another use of the MTU has been to introduce middle and high school students to the possibility of careers in manufacturing. MassMEP has sent its MTU on tour to schools in various parts of the state, often in conjunction with plant tours and other related activities. Over three thousand young people learned about the opportunities offered by precision manufacturing and – at least as important- saw firsthand how science, math, engineering and technology (STEM) subjects have practical real-world value.
The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is a nationwide program supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, to help small-and-medium-size firms with local and national resources to address specific problems as they grow their manufacturing operations. MassMEP, with support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, works collaboratively with AIM and other organizations and its counterparts in neighboring states to advance a vital sector of the economy.
As the 2011 winner of the Gould Award, MassMEP’s M.O.S.T. ® program joins past recipients, including John Rennie, founder of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education, Middlesex Community College, NYPRO Inc., William Edgerly, Chairman Emeritus, State Street Corporation, Northeastern University, The Davis Family Foundation, Intel Massachusetts, EMC Corporation, IBM Corporation, David Driscoll, former commissioner of the Sate Department of Education, Raytheon Corporation’s MathMovesU program, State Street Corporation & Year UP Boston, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Chartered in 1915, AIM has grown to become the commonwealth’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan employer association with more than 6,000 members who employ nearly one out of every five workers in Massachusetts. AIM’s mission is to promote the well-being of its members and their employees, and the prosperity of the Commonwealth by improving the economic climate, proactively advocate fair and equitable public policy, and provide relevant, reliable information and excellent services.
