Alcoa’s U.S. Primary Products President John D. Martin recently presented a $50,000 check on behalf of the Alcoa Foundation to CITEC Business Solutions Executive Director William P. Murray and Thomas R. Burns, District Superintendent of St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES. The funds will support the creation of the North Country Manufacturing Readiness Program geared toward high school students.

MASSENA – CITEC Business Solutions has received a $50,000 Alcoa Foundation grant that will be used to develop a program to aid high school students obtain the skills to qualify for positions in North Country manufacturing firms.

The goal of the North Country Manufacturing Readiness Program is to help individuals qualify for higher wage jobs available in the manufacturing field while helping to ensure a qualified, innovative workforce is developed for area manufacturers.

The program is a partnership between CITEC, The St. Lawrence-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), local high schools and area manufacturers.

The grant will allow CITEC and BOCES to develop a model training program that will help students obtain the necessary "soft" and technical skills to better qualify them for jobs in the North Country.

During the launch year, 12 students will be chosen to participate in the program through the next school year.

Alcoa Foundation funds will assist in connecting candidates to the program, provide them with the training they need, and assist candidates obtain their nationally recognized Certified Production Technician certification, which allows students to demonstrate their mastery of the core competencies of manufacturing production.

“We want to develop a repeatable model that both properly prepares workers for higher-wage manufacturing jobs and also develops the skilled workforce that American manufacturers need in order to remain competitive and innovative,” William P. Murray, executive director of CITEC, said about the program.

The model program is expected to commence in September and conclude with the first group of candidates completing the training by September 2014. The program will be ideally suited for high school students age 16 and over who are interested in manufacturing production, as well as young adults who are currently unemployed, underemployed or seeking a career change.

The lack of young adults seeking manufacturing careers and baby boomers reaching retirement age have created a greater demand for manufacturing workers, according to CITEC. In 2011, the National Association of Manufacturers Skills Gap Report shows that 67 percent of manufacturers are dealing with a moderate to severe shortage of available qualified workers. And, 56 percent anticipate that shortage will grow worse over the next five years.

“While St. Lawrence County has seen the same decline in manufacturing jobs as much of the country between 2000 and 2010, for manufacturing to continue to be viable here, we will need to develop a trained workforce to support it,” Murray said.

“Though the initial year will only focus on 12 students, it is intended to allow us to structure a repeatable program that we can continue to use in the North Country, as well as serve as a model for other areas of the country,” Murray said.

The North Country Manufacturing Readiness Program will utilize three training tools to develop the workforce of tomorrow, which includes: Certified Production Technician (CPT), the National Work Readiness Credential and classroom practical training.

Certified Production Training is a four-week program that teaches proficiency in core competencies of manufacturing that provides in-depth training in such topics as safety, teamwork, customer awareness, workplace conduct, quality, continuous improvement, manufacturing process, and maintenance awareness.

The National Work Readiness Credential focuses on entry level skills involving situational judgment, reading and math comprehension, and oral communication skills.

As part of the classroom practical training, the students will develop increased skill levels in blueprint reading, math and science.

Those interested in learning more about the program or who would like to apply or recommend a student for participation may contact CITEC Business Advisor George Mauch at mauch@citec.org or 268-3778, ext. 24.