America Makes, RCBI to unveil additive manufacturing apprenticeship program

America Makes and the Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) will host a free, one-day public forum on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, on the Apprenticeship Works Program to promote the expansion of advanced manufacturing apprenticeships and unveil the first-ever, industry-vetted Additive Manufacturing (AM)/3D Printing Technician Registered Apprenticeship framework. The new framework leverages learnings directly from the America Makes Workforce and Education Roadmap and empowers employers nationwide to develop and customize AM/3DP apprenticeships to create a highly skilled workforce.

This special Apprenticeship Works event will be held on the campus of America Makes member, Youngstown State University, in Youngstown, Ohio. While the forum is free, registration is required.

Occupational frameworks provide an outline of what an apprentice will learn on the job, as well as through related training. The new AM framework was developed out of the work led by the America Makes Workforce and Education task force, as well as many manufacturers that assisted in the development of the framework.

RCBI, a founding member of America Makes, leads Apprenticeship Works—the National Advanced Manufacturing Apprenticeship Program, which is an American Apprenticeship Initiative supported by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). Through Apprenticeship Works, the Huntington, West Virginia-based RCBI works with partners across the United States to expand apprenticeship opportunities in advanced manufacturing, making them more accessible and affordable for employers.

The Apprenticeship Works forum hosted by America Makes is for employers, operations managers, plant managers, HR managers, and anyone else within the additive industry and advanced manufacturing interested in finding out what an apprenticeship program is, what it offers an organization, and what it takes to launch an apprenticeship program.

Based in Youngstown, Ohio, America Makes is the first Institute within the Manufacturing USA infrastructure and is driven by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM).