Southwest Tennessee Community College Delivers a Highly Effective Solution to the Industrial Skills Shortage in the Memphis Market
Southwest Tennessee Community College has collaborated with Scientific Management Techniques (SMT), Inc., local manufacturers, and the Tennessee Career Center to deliver customized industrial skills training designed to solve the industrial skills shortage affecting local industry.
"The industrial skills training program is performing beyond our expectations" said John Churchill, Director of Corporate Training and Continuing Education at Southwest. "Our eighth class is currently in training and local industry eagerly anticipates their availability for employment. The hands-on training curriculum developed by Scientific Management Techniques is an important component of Southwest's training program. With the extensive use of hands-on training aids and interactive exercises, we train to the specific skill sets required for students to become productive members of the manufacturing team from day one. Our graduates are driving productivity for local manufacturers and the feedback from these employers in the Memphis area has been remarkable."
Scientific Management Techniques, Inc. President Stephen Berry commended the program's effectiveness in a letter to Southwest President Nathan Essex stating, "Southwest is clearly an innovative solutions provider in the area of manufacturing workforce skills. I commend your entire organization and I believe your model will be recognized nationally as a uniquely effective solution to the acute and growing skills shortage in industry. As your program is recognized, other schools will no doubt work to replicate the 'Southwest' solution."
According to an industrial skills survey conducted by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute, 67% of manufacturing organizations surveyed report a moderate to severe shortage of available, qualified workers and 56% anticipate the shortage to grow worse in the next three years. "Specifically, respondents don't have the skilled production people they need to maintain high production and quality levels even in the face of high unemployment," said SMT's founder Richard Whouley.
"SMT is on the front line of the industrial skills shortage" said Berry, "We work with our global manufacturing clients daily to deliver skill solutions that will drive performance on the production floor. It has become clear that 'solution driven' community colleges like Southwest, collaborating with local industry, are positioned to deliver targeted training that will dramatically improve workforce skills and deliver the requisite productivity improvement for manufacturers. John Churchill and his colleagues at Southwest are quickly changing the industrial skills dynamic in Memphis. Working with stakeholders in their market, Southwest is proactively leading the way and delivering what I believe will become a model solution for other schools that want to work closely with manufacturers and workforce professionals in their market to improve employment and industrial performance."
About Scientific Management Techniques:
Scientific Management Techniques is the global leader in performance based skill assessments for industry. The assessment capabilities, together with their demand-driven skills training program, are used in manufacturing and education organizations in 31 countries to solve the skills shortage and drive industrial productivity.
Contact: Stephen Berry
sberry@scientific-management.com
http://www.scientific-management.com
603-421-0222
About Southwest Tennessee Community College:
Southwest is a comprehensive public open-access college with seven campuses and centers in the city of Memphis and Shelby and Fayette counties.
Contact: John Churchill
jcchurchill2@southwest.tn.edu
http://www.southwest.tn.edu
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