The Model
No fluff. No filler.
Students get 1:1 time with the equipment and the instructional staff. Each class has 12 students paired with 12 pieces of equipment, one instructor and one technician.
The model is designed so that adults with no previous manufacturing experience can come to the IALR campus in Danville, Va, for a four-month, 600-hour program that prepares them to walk directly into a new career. Some have decades-long careers in other industries and want to start a new career; others are new to the workforce; and others are former military personnel desiring to continue serving their country.
Many students receive a job offer while they are still enrolled or shortly after graduation. Other students are sponsored by their current employer – meaning that these companies are utilizing ATDM to upskill their existing workforce or train new hires.
The curriculum is informed by what these learners will need to know when they enter the workforce. Industry input was crucial to the program development and in tweaks to the curriculum.
Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) launched the Naval Aviation School for Additive Manufacturing (NASAM)—a six-week program housed at and instructed by IALR that provides active-duty Navy and Marine Corps maintenance personnel with foundational skills in additive manufacturing—based on the success of the ATDM model.
Partners
A prime example of what modern public-private partnerships should look like, ATDM is a consortium among strategic partners such as the U.S. Department of Defense, IALR (contracted program administrator and host), Danville Community College (curriculum partner), Phillips Corporation (technology partner) and the SPECTRUM Group (strategy partner).
The ATDM project is funded through the National Imperative for Industrial Skills initiative which was launched in 2020 by the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program Office (IBAS) in the office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.
ATDM is also one of the strongest examples of what full integration of industry in the training process looks like. Key partners collaborate in the time-to-talent process and ensure the unique workforce requirements of shipbuilders and suppliers are fulfilled quickly to meet the critical demands of our nation’s defenses.
ATDM is one of several training programs supported by the Manufacturing Advancement division of IALR.
