Training and learning events enhance performance, innovation, engagement and motivation. Our publicly scheduled events have been designed to boost you or your teams’ skills for a variety of manufacturing-focused opportunities.
Are you looking for specific solutions and tools or would you like to bring VMEC into your company for a service or project tailored for your team or entire company? VMEC works directly with organizations to develop capability in systems and people and to collaborate on events for the manufacturing community. Contact Usto bring existing, tailored or new training to you.
Manufacturing Month
Friday, October 4, 2024 and All Month Long!
Launched annually on the first Friday in October with events that continue throughout the month, MFG Day helps show the reality of modern manufacturing careers by encouraging thousands of companies and educational institutions around the nation to open their doors to students, parents, teachers and community leaders. MFG Day empowers manufacturers to come together to address their collective challenges so they can help their communities and future generations thrive. It's not too early to plan your MFG Day event - which can take place ANY DAY in October!
Governor Phil Scott proclaims October 2024 Manufacturing Month in Vermont
The entire month of October has become part of a growing national MFG Day/ Month initiative. Vermont Governor Phil Scott has proclaimed October 2024 as Manufacturing Month in Vermont; read the full proclamation here.
Thursday, October 10, 3:00 - 6:00 pm, Generator Makerspace
Advanced Manufacturing Day - Can We Make It?
VMEC and Generator Makerspace will be co-hosting an exciting event that focuses on the importance of careers in manufacturing.
The afternoon will include two networking opportunities, facility tour, co-working space demonstrations and a panel discussion and Q&A with VT-based manufacturing leaders in their respective industries sharing their knowledge and experience in the Advanced Manufacturing world.
For complete details and to register for this event, please scroll down to the October 10Advanced Manufacturing Day - Can We Make It? - MFG Day event. We look forward to seeing you at Generator!
Plan, Host, Find: What you need to know about MFG Day/ Month 2024
Plan Your EventCheck out the dozens of ways you and your teams can host an event – webinars, toolkits and so much more are at your fingertips to plan your best manufacturing event ever! Since MFG Day’s main focus is careers in manufacturing, we highly encourage you to reach out to your local Career & Technical Education Center (CTE). And be sure to view this year's MFG Day Webinar recordings.
Host An Event Registering your event contributes to the larger MFG Day phenomenon in a major way. The more events we know about, the more people we can say we’ve affected — which inspires more interest in manufacturing. MFG Day makes a big impact in shifting the misconception of modern manufacturing. Tell your story by opening your doors – physically or virtually – and hosting an event with students, parents, educators, media, community leaders and elected officials. Registered events are reviewed for completeness and are generally made public within 24 hours after registrations are submitted.
Find An Event Check out what’s going on in the Green Mtn. State; be sure to type Vermont USA into the search field and plan to attend one or more events!
MFG Day is an initiative of The Manufacturing Institute, with the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association as a founding partner. Check out any of the above links where many free resources and ideas are available to companies, organizations and educational institutions desiring to host special events. You may also contact Robynn Albert, VMEC Marketing and Training Manager, (802) 793-2078 or [email protected], to discuss ideas for your company's event.
With nearly 600 online classes, virtual labs, instructor-led training, certifications, apprenticeships, consulting and more, Tooling U-SME works with thousands of company industry leaders, including more than half of all Fortune 500® manufacturers, 1,000+ educational institutions across the country and more than half of the states in our MEP National Network.
Manufacturers Are Able To:
Build a more capable, adaptable workforce with 24/7 flexibility
Close and add to targeted, foundational knowledge and skill gaps in real time
Free up your internal experienced, value creating, in-demand technical experts
Inspire individual, professional growth in a safe, self-paced, on-line environment
Technology and the Human Touch using Tooling U-SME and VMEC Not only does Tooling U-SME deliver needed content, it delivers the latest technology. Interactive online classes increase engagement and knowledge retention and a mobile app provides the ability to learn anytime, anywhere.
“Tooling U-SME has been an integral part of The Husky Machinist Academy. It supplemented our curriculum with detailed, well-paced classes on topics like grinding, G code, and tool offsets, and reinforced the students’ classroom learning. A bonus was teaching “time management” and “work prioritization skills” to the apprentices. It fits in nicely to the program and we would like to incorporate it into future versions of The Husky Machinist Academy.”
- Devon McGarry, Campus Recruiter/Talent Marketing Specialist, Husky Technologies™
Tooling U-SME and VMEC work together with you to identify the appropriate learning outcomes, and quickly customize paths and offerings to make the optimum impact for the company and the individuals. We add value to your training program by offering a blended and adaptive solution, providing input and follow-up to the selection of learning options, hands-on support and integration as needed. We excel in supporting adoption of new learning in your processes to ensure you get the maximum value from your training investment.
Click on the following topics to view ways we can help your organization in furthering your training needs and capabilities:
Contact Carla Wuthrich, VMEC Director of Field Operations and People Development Lead, to review the Tooling U-SME curriculum and find out how we can help you to support your people and your company results through these cutting edge programs.
Food Safety Certification and Training Programs
VMEC is pleased to announce that we have partnered with highly accredited and acclaimed food safety experts in their respective fields to offer our VT manufacturers food safety certifications and training programs. As someone whose livelihood depends on keeping Vermonters and others around our country and possibly international populations with the highest quality of food and beverage the Green Mtn. State has to offer, we bring to you several opportunities to engage in programs to further develop your company’s success as it relates to food safety.
Cornell Dairy Foods Extension, the University of Idaho and Registrar Corp. are offering discounted programs in the form of certificates and CEUs (Continuing Education Units), virtual and in-person options ranging from a few hours to single day to multi-day courses.
The topic offerings just to name a few are: HACCP accredited courses, Food Safety Planning, Business Planning, FSMA Preventive Controls, Good Manufacturing Practices for Food, SQF Quality Management Systems, Managing Performance, Marketing, Cleaning and Sanitation, Environmental Hazards. There are many more valuable sessions that are geared to specific industries and topics.
Please visit the links below to sign up for a course or courses that suit the needs of you and your company as they relate to food safety. They fill fast so if you see something that interests you, please register at your earliest convenience. Each organization’s registration link is provided below and payment will be through their websites.
Cornell Dairy Foods Extension - To obtain the in-state (Vermont) discounted rate, please add “/VMEC” to your company name when registering and choose the in-state rate to be eligible for that level pricing; this applies for all Vermont food/ beverage producers. Questions? Contact Louise M. Felker, Program Coordinator, Cornell Dairy Foods Extension, [email protected]
Boise State - Idaho - Tech Help - To obtain a 10% discount off the final price of any of their events, insert coupon code “VMEC10” when prompted.Questions? Contact Dr. Janna Hamlett, Asst. Professor & Food Processing Specialist, Tech Help, [email protected]
Registrar Corp. - To obtain a 25% discount off the final price of online training and downloadable templates, please contact Louis Prue, VMEC Business Advisor, or Robynn Albert, VMEC Marketing and Training Manager, and one of them will provide a promo code to be used during the check out process. View the complete list of courses which contain links and short descriptions for VMEC-approved training opportunities here. Questions? Contact Betsy Hsiao, Director of Food Safety Online Training, Registrar Corp., [email protected]
October 15, 2024
Lean 101 Food Production Fundamentals with B-TARTS
Rutland Country Club, 275 Grove Street, Rutland • 8:00am - 3:00pm • $350 pp
VMEC is pleased to announce our newest training offering to Vermont manufacturers who have their focus in the food manufacturing operations area. Whether you grow, bake, mix, package, retail, wholesale or warehouse “it”, Lean 101 Food Production Fundamentals with B-TARTS is for you!
Please Note: As of September 24, we've reached our maximum capacity for this training session; if you register after this date, you'll be put on a wait list and contacted when we schedule a future opportunity.
Taking the roots from our standard and popular Lean 101 Fundamentals learning opportunity, we’ll focus on aspects such as Value Stream Mapping - Current and Future States, 8 Wastes, Basic Lean Tools, Problem Solving and Continuous Improvement, Workplace Organization and Visual Controls. And then we’ll take it one step further - we’ve customized this offering to what’s in the best interest of VT food producers to help you with your workflow challenges, eliminating waste in your processes and systems and so much more.
One definition of Lean is “a systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste (non-value added activities) through continuous improvement by flowing the product at the pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection.” Whether it’s scheduling, safety concerns, supply chain issues, plant or cell layout or warehousing, let us help you find solutions to your food production challenges.
We’ll show you how to make the most of your B-TARTS (we can’t use the trademarked name of those yummy toaster treats for the all-American on-the-go breakfast, so we’ve dubbed our very own Breakfast Treats and shortened the name!) or whatever your product or service offering might be. There are so many ways we can help you streamline your workflow, regardless of what size your company is, where you’re located, how many employees you have, etc. We specialize in making improvements to all operations, small or large, that will impact your bottom line in the black.
This day-long session’s agenda will consist of a mix of presentation and three hands-on role playing simulations where all attendees will take on an active role in a chaotic kitchen environment producing B-TARTS - mixing, baking, cooling, frosting, packaging and labeling and lastly, seeing the treats out the door to be shipped. Each simulation will show improvements from the previous round where at the end of the day, the B-TARTS factory will be one you’ll want to mirror with your own real live company!
Questions? Contact Louis Prue, VMEC Professional Manufacturing & Business Growth Advisor.
NOTE: In order to ensure VMEC is offering the best business improvement programs to Vermont manufacturers and justify continued U.S. Dept. of Commerce funding for these services, participants may be asked to provide impact data and assessment through an impartial 3rd party survey firm 6 – 12 months after a VMEC-hosted public workshop.
Training and Workforce Solutions for the Manufacturing Industry
Virtual • 1:00 - 2:00pm • Free
As the industry moves toward Smart and Advanced Manufacturing, the need for training and mastery has never been greater. Working with manufacturers, educators, workforce development agencies, and more, Tooling U-SME empowers organizations to unleash productivity, efficiency, and possibility. With nearly 600 online classes, virtual labs, instructor-led training, certifications, apprenticeships, consulting and more, Tooling U-SME works with thousands of company industry leaders across the country and more than half of the states in the MEP National Network. VMEC is the official representative of the MEP National Network in Vermont.
Manufacturers are currently challenged by a labor shortage (too few skilled candidates) and an aging workforce. All of this makes it even more important to retain manufacturing employees. But how? Developing employees — investing in their professional growth through training in new areas and upskilling — is a proven strategy for keeping skilled team members engaged. Join us for a one-hour complimentary webinar spotlighting the online training opportunities as a strategy for development and the available funding for virtual training. And once you have completed the session, you will have the opportunity to set up your free trial Tooling U-SME account.
Tooling U-SME and VMEC work together with you to identify the appropriate learning outcomes, and quickly customize paths and offerings to make the optimum impact for the company and the individuals. Value is added to your training program by offering a blended and adaptive solution, providing input and follow-up to the selection of learning options, hands-on support and integration as needed. Supporting adoption of new learning in your processes to ensure you get the maximum value from your training investment is key to the success of this manufacturing training model.
Presenters - Jacky Larson, Tooling U-SME Senior Workforce Education Strategist, and Carla Wuthrich, VMEC Director of Field Operations/ Professional Manufacturing & Business Growth Advisor, will discuss the online manufacturing programs available through Tooling U-SME and VMEC such as Machining, Industrial Maintenance/Mechatronics, Smart Manufacturing and more. These readily available programs are aligned to industry certifications and the most pressing needs of small and medium-sized manufacturers.
Who Should Attend? Vermont Manufacturing company owners and executives, HR leads as well as Operations and Continuous Improvement leads. If you wish to build a more capable, adaptable workforce and are seeking to target foundational knowledge and skill gaps in real time, this is for you!
Intro to CONNEX VT and the Supply Chain Optimization and Intelligence Network (SCOIN)
Zoom meeting • 12:00pm - 1:00pm • Free
Launched last summer, the Supply Chain Optimization and Intelligence Network (SCOIN) expands the MEP National Network’s scope from working primarily with individual companies to taking a more comprehensive approach to manufacturing supply chains. The initiative will help establish new MEP service offerings to provide manufacturers with what they need to improve existing supply chain networks and fill gaps in the supply chain. VMEC is the official representative of the MEP National Network in Vermont.
One key SCOIN service, CONNEX™ Vermont, is the Green Mountain State’s answer to your supply chain solution. Whether you’re a buyer or seller, this is the one-stop, secure, on-line platform that connects Vermont’s small manufacturers and suppliers in a single, searchable supply chain solution.
Curious how to set up your CONNEX™ Vermont account? Have an account but want to learn more? And what about all the benefits of SCOIN, such as scaling up your supplier scouting services, which helps organizations source domestic products and expand their capabilities as well as enhancing resilience and reducing supply chain vulnerabilities for manufacturers?
This hour-long introductory session is just what you need to get you on the road to supply chain success; we’ll walk you through the benefits of joining Vermont’s supply chain network whether your focus is local or national.
Who Should Attend? Anyone and everyone interested in learning how to solve their company’s supply chain challenges. There is no cost to Vermont manufacturers to be part of eitherCONNEX™ Vermont or SCOIN.
Mark O'Hearn, VMEC Business Growth Advisor - Supply Chain, will present this session. If this date and time do not work for you, feel free to view other offerings of the same topic being offered throughout 2024 or reach out to Mark directly to set up your own one-on-one session.
Intro to CONNEX VT and the Supply Chain Optimization and Intelligence Network (SCOIN)
Zoom meeting • 2:00pm - 3:00pm • Free
Launched last summer, the Supply Chain Optimization and Intelligence Network (SCOIN) expands the MEP National Network’s scope from working primarily with individual companies to taking a more comprehensive approach to manufacturing supply chains. The initiative will help establish new MEP service offerings to provide manufacturers with what they need to improve existing supply chain networks and fill gaps in the supply chain. VMEC is the official representative of the MEP National Network in Vermont.
One key SCOIN service, CONNEX™ Vermont, is the Green Mountain State’s answer to your supply chain solution. Whether you’re a buyer or seller, this is the one-stop, secure, on-line platform that connects Vermont’s small manufacturers and suppliers in a single, searchable supply chain solution.
Curious how to set up your CONNEX™ Vermont account? Have an account but want to learn more? And what about all the benefits of SCOIN, such as scaling up your supplier scouting services, which helps organizations source domestic products and expand their capabilities as well as enhancing resilience and reducing supply chain vulnerabilities for manufacturers?
This hour-long introductory session is just what you need to get you on the road to supply chain success; we’ll walk you through the benefits of joining Vermont’s supply chain network whether your focus is local or national.
Who Should Attend? Anyone and everyone interested in learning how to solve their company’s supply chain challenges. There is no cost to Vermont manufacturers to be part of eitherCONNEX™ Vermont or SCOIN.
Mark O'Hearn, VMEC Business Growth Advisor - Supply Chain, will present this session. If this date and time do not work for you, feel free to view other offerings of the same topic being offered throughout 2024 or reach out to Mark directly to set up your own one-on-one session.
VMEC and Generator Makerspace will be co-hosting an exciting event that focuses on the importance of careers in manufacturing.
