The Council on Competitiveness recently published Make: An American Manufacturing Movement, a report which aims to encourage the American public to remember that manufacturing is and has been the cornerstone to economic prosperity. The series of reports focuses on innovation, expansion, talent and productivity. All of which were shown to the government as a non-partisan strategy in an effort to resolve pressures the American manufacturing industry might face down the road.

Concerning industrial skills, the Council on Competitiveness sees harnessing the power and potential of American talent as one of the main challenges that is faced when it comes to today’s industrial training skills. Their recommended solution is to prepare the next generation of researchers, innovators and skilled workers through different vehicles of industrial skills training.

A few of their recommended courses of action include having federal, state and local governments team up with high schools, universities and community colleges to promote student participation in engineering and manufacturing programs. They also suggest that Congress should implement immigration reform that would allow the world’s brightest talent to work in the U.S. They recommend that the Small Business Administration (SBA) create a program like SCORE to bring retired business executives together and have them mentor younger entrepreneurs. Other recommendations included state of the art apprentice ships, study abroad programs for Americans and for Congress to create opportunities for older generations to remain critical contributors to the industrial workforce.

In the meantime, industrial training skills remain the most important element to maintain a productive and knowledgeable workforce. While the Council on Competitiveness lobbies for manufacturing training programs in all areas of education, plant managers must still educate their current employees to maintain a dynamic team. By implementing online industrial training, industrial skills’ training becomes a breeze. Trainees can learn on the job or from the comfort of their own home through online courseware which meets SCORM standards. Without essential manufacturing training the industry and the current workforce will suffer, but with the right training skills manufacturers can increase output and see a quick return on investment. Click here to contact ITC Learning and learn more about the advantages of industrial skills training.

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With industrial equipment and technology constantly changing, training has become vital to ensure your plant is properly operated and maintained. As an industry leader in providing industrial training skills, we understand that finding the proper material to effectively train your workforce and target each of their specific needs can be a daunting task. Computer industrial training must not only be the best quality content possible but it also needs to be affordable and accessible from anywhere. And today, SCORM (or Shareable Content Object Reference Model) makes delivering training skills such as control training, process training, boiler training and much more easy and cost-effective. SCORM helps consistently provide industrial training materials in a standardized format. SCORM assists in maintaining an interoperable and reusable web-based eLearning system for your online courseware.

SCORM is all the more critical as more and more agencies are beginning to hire. For example, the head of Bombardier Business Air says they plan to expand the company’s Learjet site located in Wichita and create almost 450 new jobs over the next seven to ten years. The news of expansion from one Learjet manufacturer comes with a sigh of relief for many Kansas industrial workers, as The Boeing Co. announce last week they plan to shut down their facilities in Wichita by the end of 2013.

Tennessee also received good news in Clinton when Magna International Inc. announced they are planning a $64 million expansion to be implemented over the next five years. The expansion for the automotive parts supplier hopes to add 188 jobs in their facility. New jobs will include assembly and press operators as well as laser operators and maintenance professionals. Also in Chicago, Illinois the freight company Coyote Logistics announced its plan to create 400 new jobs this year in their facility.

As companies regain confidence to hire and create industrial jobs they also have the chance to safeguard the future or their plant’s performance by employing an industrial skills training program that is both effective and user friendly. And SCORM based online courseware is just that. There is a great training opportunity with new hires and even current employees, take advantage and utilize industrial training skills that will advance your business.

Forecasts are generally what get us through each day. We watch the news for the weather forecast and determine whether we need to bring an umbrella to work that day. We watch for stock market forecasts to figure out whether to buy or sell. And now, we can look to the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI) U.S. Industrial Outlook quarterly report to know what to expect in the coming years in the manufacturing industry. The report analyzed 27 major industries and offered mostly positive economic forecasts for 24 of the 27 industries. MAPI predicts that in the coming New Year 18 of the 24 industries studied will show gains.

In the third quarter this year, U.S. manufacturing production recovered by increasing 4 percent. Daniel Meckstroth, Ph. D. and Chief Economist says, “The growth is being led by the energy, transportation and industrial equipment industries…Firms are profitable and have the need to spend more for both traditional and high tech business equipment, and reasonably strong growth in emerging economies is still driving U.S. exports.”

While manufacturing industrial production has increased at an annual rate of 4 percent on a quarterly basis it is also expected to increase at about 4 percent as a whole in 2011. In 2012, MAPI predicts industrial production will increase by 3 percent and another 4 percent during the following year. According to MAPI’s analysis, non-high tech manufacturing, which accounts for nearly 90 percent of total production, is expected to grow by 4 percent through the end of this year and then slow a bit to 3 percent in 2012 and 2013. High-tech industrial production, which includes electronic products such as computers and components, is anticipated to increase by almost 8 percent in 2011. High-tech production should grow by another 6 percent in 2012 and 10 percent in 2013.

With such positive outlooks on the coming years, employers will hopefully begin hiring new industrial talent. To ensure new hires are properly placed, managers should implement advanced industrial training courseware. By assessing the industrial skills of your workforce you can determine their strengths and weaknesses and in turn provide the most up to date and effective industrial skills training. Contact ITC Learning today to find out more.

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Besides technical training, industrial safety knowledge is perhaps one of the most important industrial skill sets plant workers should possess. Today, there are more than 600,000 forklifts operating in manufacturing plants that are powered by propane fuel. And with more and more experienced forklift drivers reaching retirement age, factory owners have to prepare to properly train the next generation of industrial workers, so that their industrial skill sets are not only up to date but also follow the appropriate standards.

Replacing an empty propane cylinder on a forklift is not a difficult task, however there are specific standards that should be studied and applied when doing so for the safety of your employees and for the safety of your business. Some of these standards include the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) Standard of 1910.178 and the American National Standards Institute/Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation Standard B56.1-2009.

According to the OSHA, there are two classes of propane fueled forklifts. The first, Class IV is an internal combustion engine truck with solid/cushion tires. While the second type, Class V, is also an internal combustion engine truck but has pneumatic tires instead. The plus side is that the propane cylinders in both classes can be replaced by following the same procedures. Industrial workers who are not properly trained to execute such an exchange should not do so. Only appropriately trained personnel should handle the replacement by utilizing the proper safety measures and equipment, such as gloves and safety glasses. The forklift operator’s manual should always be reviewed before handling the propane cylinder as with any industrial equipment.

Operations and maintenance training of forklifts is only one example where further industrial training beyond manuals and basic floor training it critical, especially while plant owners prepare for a younger and less experience workforce to take over. Appropriate industrial training and safety measures should always be taken before operating or maintaining a forklift or any other industrial machinery for that matter. ITC Learning offers quality industrial training and expert knowledge when it comes to manufacturing operations. Ensure your employees are properly trained for all aspects of their daily industrial tasks, and contact ITC Learning today.