Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

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IALR March 2022 Newsletter

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First ATDM Additive Manufacturing Cohort Graduates

First ATDM Additive Manufacturing Cohort Graduates

Ten students and their instructors celebrated successfully completing the first cohort of the ATDM Additive Manufacturing track during a completion ceremony held at IALR.

The first Additive Manufacturing cohort has graduated from the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program. This new track was added in November 2021 and is an important addition given the growing significance of the new technology in advanced manufacturing.

Students in the Additive Manufacturing track earned several credentials including OSHA 10 and a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt. They are waiting on certification results for Certified Additive Manufacturing Fundamentals, which is issued by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and Autodesk Certified Associate in CAD for Mechanical Design, which certifies skilled use of Fusion 360 CAD software.

Daniel Hyler, a Pittsylvania County native, who graduated from Chatham High School in 2021, completed the first CNC Machining track last summer and just completed the first Additive Manufacturing track this month. “It has been very helpful, and a lot more than I thought,” said Hyler. “The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn. I would recommend it. The environment is the best. The teachers work well with you.”

After completing the CNC Machining ATDM track, Hyler started working for FasTech as a CNC Machinist in October. Now, he will use his skills learned in the Additive Manufacturing track to help him in his job where he runs CNC mills and additive manufacturing machines.

“The entire group was really driven,” said James Hubbard, who served as the instructor through Danville Community College, an ATDM instructional partner. “We didn’t know what to expect – several didn’t even know what modeling was – but now they’re modeling assemblies and intricate things of that nature. Their skill sets will allow them to get a job in any modern manufacturing environment.”

Another student Rashida Grear, from Norfolk, Va., who works at Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC) and is an active-duty sailor in the U.S. Navy also praised the program. “MARMC is trying to learn more mass production methods of operation,” said Grear. “We do things very manually, but we are getting newer equipment to train sailors on.” Grear stated that her ATDM training will prepare her for her role on a team that will be dedicated to 3D printing which will be extremely beneficial.

In addition to the Additive Manufacturing track graduates, the second cohort from the ATDM Welding, Metrology/Quality Assurance and CNC Machining tracks also graduated in March.

The ATDM program is specifically designed to help adult learners with varying educational and workplace experiences earn the skills necessary to make an immediate impact in the defense industrial base. The four-month curriculum is designed to offer the skills and nationally recognized credentials directly requested by the industry.

ATDM Summit Tackles Skill Gaps in Defense Industrial Base to Support U.S. Navy

ATDM Summit Tackles Skill Gaps in Defense Industrial Base to Support U.S. Navy

 

U.S. Senator Warner serves as keynote speaker for inaugural event

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of Industrial Policy, through its Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program, welcomed key stakeholders to the first Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) Summit at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) in Danville, Va., on August 25. IALR is leading a three-year pilot project to develop, exercise and evaluate ATDM as a potential training platform for a network of regional training centers across the United States.

The ATDM Summit’s theme was “Workforce Challenges in Defense Manufacturing: ATDM – Meeting the Demand for Scale and Velocity.” The event introduced ATDM and discussed how this new program contributes to closing skills and manpower gaps that are impacting the ability of the defense industrial base to support America’s Navy. U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) delivered the keynote speech.

“For years, I’ve been talking about the importance of addressing our nation’s chronic underinvestment in workers. Today, it’s more clear than ever that to maintain the capability of our military, and chart a strategic path forward, we will need to invest in the people who are going to make that possible. That’s our men and women in uniform as well as the civilians and industrial base who support them,” said U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA). “We need innovative approaches to workforce development – like IALR, like the ATDM program – to help make that happen.”

Other ATDM Summit presenters included Jesse Salazar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy; Rear Admiral Scott Pappano, Program Executive Office, Columbia class submarine program; Adele Ratcliff, Director of Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program; and Troy Simpson, Director of Advanced Manufacturing for IALR.

“As we continue to ensure our national security objectives are met, and that our warfighters have the platforms and systems they need to maintain free access across the maritime domain, I cannot overemphasize the significance of our defense industrial base workforce,” said Rear Admiral Pappano. “We have to demand the same levels of scale and urgency across our shipbuilding and ship sustainment trades as we do our Naval capability, capacity, and readiness…that is exactly what this program is designed to achieve.”

“The advances here in Danville have resonance far beyond shipbuilding and will enable the future of American production by cultivating the people who will build our country back better,” said Jesse Salazar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy. “The ATDM model, led by Team Danville, will help the DoD scale American capacity to manufacture the exceptional parts, machines, and resilient supply chain materials our warfighters need.”

“The need for the level of training offered by ATDM has been clearly defined, especially in light of the country’s defense industrial base workforce needs,” said Mark Gignac, Executive Director of IALR. “We appreciate the support of Sen. Mark Warner and our other stakeholders which, in addition to support from the U.S. government, will be critical to scale the ATDM program model as we move forward. Much appreciation also goes to our partners, Danville Community College, Phillips Corporation, The SPECTRUM Group, and to funding provided by the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Program.”

“The ATDM Summit showcases the power of a strong, rebounding community with great leadership,” said Dr. Brian Jackson, Vice President of Workforce Services for Danville Community College, the instructional provider for ATDM. “There are outstanding opportunities in Danville, and it was great to see leadership from around the country focusing on our community and our success.”

“Phillips Corporation is proud to participate with Team Danville in its quest to scale ATDM from its present Pilot stage to a national training program,” said Rick Morgan, Director of Phillips Corporation, the technology partner for ATDM. “We are convinced that ATDM will be a vital resource in addressing the widening gap of advanced manufacturing workers required to support the extensive supply chain needs of our nation’s Defense Industrial Base. The Summit demonstrated that we have achieved a strong alignment of local and national political and industry leaders in support of Team Danville’s ATDM initiatives.”

“ATDM demonstrates the power of public-private partnerships. It is a high-impact program at many levels,” said Charlie Dale, Partner, The SPECTRUM Group. “While addressing critical skill shortages in the defense industry, it provides extraordinary opportunities for a diverse group of women and men to begin careers in advanced manufacturing. Every ATDM student is a true pathfinder in the rebirth of manufacturing in America. SPECTRUM is very proud to be a member of Team Danville and passionate about ATDM’s mission to advance and grow America’s skilled workforce.”

In March 2020, the DoD launched the National Imperative for Industrial Skills (NIIS) Initiative to catalyze coordinated, multi-level public and private efforts across the nation’s industrial skills workforce development ecosystem. NIIS aims to close defense-critical workforce gaps, expand national production capacities, and improve U.S. industrial resiliency. ATDM is the flagship program in NIIS for training skilled workers for America’s defense industrial base in critical trades such as welding, CNC machining, metrology and additive manufacturing.

About ATDM

Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing is a prototype training platform for rapidly training skilled workers in key trades for employment in the defense industry. ATDM was developed as a public-private consortium between the DoD, the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), Danville Community College (DCC), Phillips Corporation, and The SPECTRUM Group in consultation with the defense industry. IALR is leading a multi-year pilot project to test and evaluate ATDM as a training platform for regional training centers supporting the defense industrial base. The pilot 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. All training is conducted in Danville, Va. For more information, visit www.atdm.org.

See the following Flickr album link for images from the ATDM training facilities open house, the ATDM social and the ATDM Summit: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWv2ova

 Visit https://youtu.be/egldO2Feeck for the ATDM overview video that was shared at the ATDM Summit.

Students, defense manufacturers, educators and supporters attend the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) open house on Aug. 24 at Danville Community College, the instructional provider for ATDM. Stakeholders also participate in an evening social and the inaugural ATDM Summit the following day at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, the ATDM project leader. Sen. Mark Warner served as the keynote speaker at the summit, which focused on “Workforce Challenges in Defense Manufacturing: ATDM – Meeting the Demand for Scale and Velocity.”

 

IALR Awarded $1.78 Million Department of War Contract for New, Innovative Skilled Worker Training Program for Defense Industrial Base

IALR Awarded $1.78 Million Department of War Contract for New, Innovative Skilled Worker Training Program for Defense Industrial Base

The U.S. Army Contracting Command-Rock Island (ACC-RI) has 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 Defense Industrial Base,” said Mark Gignac, Executive Director for IALR, the fiscal agent and ATDM program lead. “We are fortunate to be joined by exemplary partners—DCC, a leader in workforce development programs; Phillips Corporation, a champion of next-generation manufacturing solutions; and The SPECTRUM Group, a consulting firm experienced in the defense industry. I look forward to seeing the program grow under the leadership of IALR’s Troy Simpson, and I thank Sen. Mark Warner and other legislators for supporting these efforts.”

“Danville Community College’s excellence and experience in technical training aligned to industry needs makes our institution the perfect partner for the ATDM pilot program,” said Dr. Jacqueline Gill Powell, president of Danville Community College. “This program will provide another unique opportunity for our students while training needed workforce for the defense industry. By leveraging our existing advanced manufacturing infrastructure and industry expert knowledge, we are positioned to support the ATDM program now and into the future.”

The initial ATDM pilot will focus on the naval shipbuilding sector and will train skilled workers in the DIB skill gaps of CNC machining, welding, metrology/quality assurance and additive manufacturing. A fast-track, intensive and targeted program, ATDM offers universal application across the DIB and the inherent flexibility to be customized for specific manufacturing sectors. It also addresses one of the top workforce development priorities of the Department of War’s 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. The ATDM contract was issued under the CORNERSTONE OTA, an integrated contract vehicle that supports the IBAS program.

ATDM will support the recently launched IBAS National Imperative in Industrial Skills (NIIS) for the creation of an industrial skills workforce development ecosystem. NIIS aims to close existing industrial workforce skill gaps and improve America’s capacity to recruit, train and deliver sufficient numbers of workers with industrial skills to meet defense supply chain requirements. A major objective of the pilot project will be to evaluate ATDM’s contributions to NIIS as a model training platform in a national network of regionally-based training centers serving the various industrial sectors of the DIB.

“Congratulations to the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research and Danville Community College consortium for securing a $1.78 million award from the Department of Defense (DoD) for their workforce training pilot program, as part of DoD’s National Imperative for Industrial Skills (NIIS) Initiative, which aims to scale up workforce training for our nation’s defense industrial base. The Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing pilot program ramps up key skills such as welding, additive manufacturing and metrology, and serves as a model for our nation,” said U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA). “Given significant gaps that exist in our nation’s defense industrial base, we must pursue innovative models of workforce training such as this one in order to meet our essential national security needs. I’m proud to have been part of today’s announcement, and commend all of the hard work that has gone into developing this program. I look forward to seeing the impact of this training in developing indispensable talent for naval shipbuilding. I’m also optimistic about the jobs that this pilot program will create during this difficult time, and the effect that those jobs will have on the regional economy.”

IALR and DCC have partnered with Phillips Corporation, one of the nation’s largest suppliers of state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment, and The SPECTRUM Group, a leading defense consulting firm. The public-private consortium consulted with the defense industry to develop the ATDM program.

Alan Phillips, President/CEO of Phillips Corporation states, “We are proud to be joining IALR, Danville Community College and The Spectrum Group to team on implementing ATDM in the important mission to bridge the skills gap in the USA’s Defense Industrial Base. We believe IALR has the ideal combination of strong leadership, excellent infrastructure, resourceful strategic partners and a highly innovative training formula that will enable success in executing the objectives of ATDM. We look forward to contributing our advanced manufacturing industry knowledge in the areas of subtractive and additive metalworking technologies as we partner with IALR to offer compelling and deployable training programs.”

“ATDM will take the extraordinary manufacturing and workforce development infrastructure that exists in the Danville region to the national level with the potential to make a significant contribution to our nation’s security. SPECTRUM is delighted to be on the Danville team,” said Charlie Dale, Partner of The SPECTRUM Group.

Photos Courtesy of DCC and the City of Danville

Danville Community College (DCC) students train on the latest precision machining technology as part of Danville-Pittsylvania County’s workforce development model, which has been lauded by Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner and others as a benchmark program. DCC will work with the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, program lead of a newly awarded contract from the Department of Defense, to develop an innovative Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing program and address Defense Industrial Base skill gaps in CNC machining and other areas.