The Update meeting is three weeks away. Please visit the event website to view the agenda, register for the meeting and for any other logistical information. Registration is $208 per attendee.

Also, the MEP Advisory Board meeting will be taking place before the Update Meeting on Tuesday, May 19th from 8:30am – 5:00pm. The Advisory Board meeting is open to anyone interested in attending.
If you have any questions please contact Kari Reidy at Kari.reidy@nist.gov | (301) 975-4919.

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New Department of Commerce Initiative: Skills for Business” – Partnering with Business to equip workers for 21st century careers

This week, Secretary Penny Pritzker introduced a new branding umbrella for the Department of Commerce’s skills activities and initiatives:  “Skills for Business” – Partnering with Business to equip workers for 21st century careers.  The tag line will be used at the national level to provide a cohesion between skill efforts across Commerce such as the employer leadership and partnership initiative, and job-driven training activities. 

In addition, Secretary Pritzker launched the Communities that Work Partnership, a brand new joint project between the Economic Development Administration and Aspen Institute aimed at accelerating industry-led workforce development and training efforts (read the press release). This project will competitively select six teams from different regions to participate in a pilot Community. These six regional teams, each comprised of 3-4 senior leaders from different industry, government, education or workforce/economic development organizations, will receive technical assistance and participate in leadership development activities, with the goal of strengthening their ability to accelerate targeted systems changes that are designed to boost skills and economic development in their regions.  For more information and how to apply, visit the website, or contact Mary Ann Pacelli, mary.pacelli@nist.gov.

White House UpSkill Summit

On Friday April 24, the White House UpSkill Summit brought together employers, labor unions, foundations, educators, workforce leaders, non-profits, and technology innovators on a topic very familiar to many of us—the need to do more to enable millions of front-line workers to advance into better paying jobs. The summit is a result of the President’s call during his State of the Union address for businesses to commit in investing on their front-line employees, to empower them to ‘upskill’ to earn a chance at higher-paying jobs.   Most of the summit was devoted for breakout sessions in which participants shared their ways on how they've invested through apprenticeships, on-the-job training, attainment of new credentials, employer provided education benefits, and the use of mentorship and supportive services.  More information is available in the White House Fact sheet. 

The Summit also released the following reports:

• Deloitte partnered with Aspen Institute to create a handbook for employers:  A Guide to Upskilling America’s Frontline Workers.  The handbook is available here.
• The White House also released a report, President Obama’s Upskill Initiative, that includes new data on trends in employer training, investments, and highlights best practices, and employer case studies. View here.

For more information, contact Mary Ann Pacelli, mary.pacelli@nist.gov

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May - June, 2015
AME Events and Training

The following AME training sessions are being hosted by MEP Centers:

• May 8th: AME Best Practice Workshop, hosted by DVIRC in New York (learn more).
• June 1st: Improvement Kata / Coaching Kata, hosted by DVIRC in New York (learn more)
• June 15th: Communication Skills Training, hosted my DEMEP in Delaware (learn more).

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Enterprise Minnesota’s 7th annual The State of Manufacturing survey will be released on May 13 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. In addition to the May 13 event, Enterprise Minnesota will be visiting cities throughout Minnesota to share the survey results and connect with manufacturers across the state. Learn More

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Hosted by the U.S. Department of Education, this interactive webinar, will include representatives from small- and medium-sized companies that will share their workforce development strategies to efficiently and effectively engage with training and education stakeholders and institutions. Such engagements are critical in assuring the quality and preparedness of incoming talent, and have become an essential part of the growth strategy for many manufacturing firms.To register, click here.

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NIST MEP, Utah MEP, and the Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration will be hosting an upcoming Buy America Transit Supply Chain Forum in Salt Lake City, on June 24, 2015.

The objective of the Transit Supply Chain Connectivity Forum is to bring large transit OEMs and smaller, qualified and interested U.S. manufacturers together in an effort to facilitate the use of a higher percentage of domestic suppliers in transit products and systems. The Forum will offer a venue for smaller manufacturers to learn what products are needed and find out more about investments they need to consider when entering the transit industry.

As part of the Forum, time will be allocated for ten-minute introductory, private meetings between participating OEMs and prospective suppliers. Participating suppliers can include both current transit industry suppliers, and potential new suppliers. These are not intended to be deal negotiation meetings – these are private introductory meetings to discuss the basics of participating in OEM supply chains.

This event will be held in conjunction with the American Transportation Association’s Rail Conference at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, UT.

Registration is $25. Please click here to register.

For more information about Buy America Transit Supply Chain, please visit the Next Generation Transportation Supply Chain page or contact Samm Bowman (samm@nist.gov| 301-975-5978).

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DVIRC and the Philadelphia Phillies would like to honor our region’s manufacturers. Please join us at Citizens Bank Park on June 26th as the Phillies take on the Washington Nationals. Learn More

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