Todays announcement fittingly coincides with National Apprenticeship Week (NAW), observed November 12–18, 2018, a national celebration that offers leaders in business, labor, education, and other critical partners a chance to demonstrate their support for apprenticeships.

Youngstown, Ohio — November 14, 2018. America Makes and the Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI), in partnership with Tooling U-SME, the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers, and AST2, proudly announce that the U.S. Department of Labors Office of Apprenticeship (OA) has officially approved their first-ever, industry-vetted Additive Manufacturing (AM) Technician Registered Apprenticeship.

Todays announcement fittingly coincides with National Apprenticeship Week (NAW), observed November 12-18, 2018, a national celebration that offers leaders in business, labor, education, and other critical partners a chance to demonstrate their support for apprenticeships. The week-long celebration highlights the benefits of apprenticeship in preparing a highly-skilled workforce to meet the talent needs of employers across diverse industries.
"The approval of the AM Technician Registered Apprenticeship by the DOL OA is the accumulation of a great deal of work and learnings, many of which were leveraged directly from the America Makes Workforce and Education Roadmap," said America Makes Executive Director Rob Gorham. "We are proud to have played an important role in this initiative to empower employers nationwide to develop and customize AM apprenticeships to create a much needed, highly skilled additive workforce."
The development of the framework for the AM Technician Registered Apprenticeship was a key America Makes initiative through Apprenticeship Works—the National Advanced Manufacturing Apprenticeship Program, a collaborative project between RCBI, America Makes, the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers, Tooling U-SME and AST2, and supported by the DOL.
RCBI, a founding member of America Makes, leads Apprenticeship Works. Through Apprenticeship Works, RCBI works with partners across the United States to expand apprenticeship opportunities in advanced manufacturing, making them more accessible and affordable for employers.
In order for the AM Technician Registered Apprenticeship framework to receive approval from the DOL OA, it had to follow guidelines in accordance with Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), (Title 29 CFR, part 29.4 Criteria for Apprenticeable Occupations). Upon the OA soliciting input from the industry regarding the apprenticeability of the AM Technician occupation and reviewing against Title 29 CFR, part 29.4, the OA on November 1st, formally recognized the occupation as apprenticeable.
"The formal recognition by the DOL OA of the AM Technician Registered Apprenticeship is a big step forward for the AM industry at large," said Josh Cramer, America Makes Workforce and Education Director. "The AM innovations are out there. Whats needed most is a skilled workforce to support the innovative work. With the AM Technician Apprenticeship framework now available, employers can combine on-the-job learning with related instruction in specific additive processes and technologies to produce qualified, highly-productive employees."
For more information about America Makes, visit americamakes.us and follow the Institute on Twitter @AmericaMakes.
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About America Makes
America Makes is the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. As the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM), America Makes is the nations leading and collaborative partner in AM and 3DP technology research, discovery, creation, and innovation. Structured as a public-private partnership with member organizations from industry, academia, government, non-government agencies, and workforce and economic development resources, we are working together to innovate and accelerate AM to increase our nations global manufacturing competitiveness. 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). For more information about America Makes, visit americamakes.us and follow @AmericaMakes on Twitter.
About NCDMM
NCDMM delivers innovative and collaborative manufacturing solutions that enhance our nations workforce and economic competitiveness. NCDMM has extensive knowledge and depth in manufacturing areas—both commercial and defense—to continually innovate, improve, and advance manufacturing technologies and methodologies. Our experienced team specializes in identifying the needs, the players, the technologies, and processes to attain optimal solutions for our customers. We connect the dots. Thats the NCDMM methodology. NCDMM also manages the national accelerator for additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing (3DP), America Makes—the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. For additional information, visit the NCDMM at ncdmm.org and follow @NCDMMnews on Twitter.