The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) awarded a $1.78 million contract to the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) and Danville Community College (DCC) for a pilot project to develop the prototype training program, Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM). The base year of the contract includes instructional staff and curriculum development to address workforce gaps for Defense Industrial Base (DIB) companies.

“Thanks to this transformative opportunity from the DoD, the ATDM program will allow us to fill critical workforce gaps while building the capacity of our nation’s DIB,” said Mark Gignac, Executive Director of IALR, the fiscal agent and ATDM program lead. “We are fortunate to be joined by exemplary partners like DCC, Phillips Corporation and The SPECTRUM Group to develop the ATDM prototype. I look forward to seeing this imperative training program grow under the leadership of IALR’s Troy Simpson.”

ATDM will focus on naval shipbuilding and will train skilled workers in the DIB skill gaps of CNC machining, welding, metrology/quality assurance and additive manufacturing. The program will offer universal application and the inherent flexibility to be customized for specific manufacturing sectors.

“This program will provide a unique opportunity for our students while training the DIB workforce,” said Dr. Jacqueline Gill Powell, president of DCC. “By leveraging our existing advanced manufacturing infrastructure and industry expert knowledge, we are positioned to support ATDM now and in the future.”

ATDM addresses one of the top workforce development priorities of the DoD Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program—the need to train skilled workers at scale and velocity to address skill gaps and manpower shortages in the DIB. It will support the recently launched IBAS National Imperative in Industrial Skills program for the creation of an industrial skills workforce development ecosystem. See the full news release at http://bit.ly/ATDMprogram.

Sen. Mark Warner (left), who helped announce the new contract, tours the Gene Haas Center for Integrated Machining with Troy Simpson, IALR’s Director of Advanced Manufacturing (center), and Jeremiah Williams, DCC’s Director of Integrated Machine Technology (right).

Former students train on precision machining technology at DCC, where, in partnership with IALR, most of the initial instruction will take place for the new ATDM program to be built for the Defense Industrial Base. (File photo courtesy of City of Danville)