Industrial Manufacturing Technician Apprenticeship Program
About the IMT Apprenticeship Program
The Industrial Manufacturing Technician Apprenticeship helps entry-level workers in manufacturing quickly enhance their skills and advance with their current employer. Due to changing manufacturing technologies, entry-level workers require higher skills than before and employers are struggling to recruit and retain these type of workers. The IMT program is a state registered apprenticeship to help meet these employer needs.
This registered apprenticeship program is a hybrid approach providing production workers with the knowledge and competencies needed in the advanced manufacturing environment. A hybrid approach integrates time-based learning combined with competency-based training.
Registered apprenticeships utilize an “Earn and Learn” approach to building worker skills. The IMT program provides 3,000 hours of structured technical instruction. This instruction is comprised of 2,736 hours of on-the-job training (OJT) from experienced mentors assigned by the employer and 264 hours of related technical instruction. All IMT apprentices are employees of a specific company, earning wages, benefits, and seniority while they learn new skills.
Trains Workers to:
- Set up, operate, monitor and control production equipment
- Help improve manufacturing processes and schedules to meet customer requirements
- Understand manufacturing as a business system that integrates multiple disciplines, processes and stakeholders
- Efficiently and safely manage raw materials/consumables
Key Features of the IMT Apprenticeship Program:
- Stackable apprenticeship that is a foundation for multiple career pathways
- Easily adapted for different manufacturing contexts, different sized companies and different types of manufacturing schedules
- Leads to industry-recognized credentials as well as college academic credits
On-the-Job (OJT) Training
OJT follows a competency-based model that utilizes the supervision of a training mentor as IMT apprentices are assigned tasks that build their skills and competencies in the full range of the production work cycle within their company. The OJT is delivered in accordance with a carefully developed training plan. This plan, called the Job Book, spells out detailed competency levels for skills including equipment set up and operations, safety, routine equipment maintenance, use of mechanical tools and testing equipment. The Job Book allows for customization to each company’s specific systems.
Each apprentice is assigned an experience skilled mentor who demonstrates new skills, observes and provides feedback on the apprentice’s performance of the skills and signs off on the date when the apprentice shows mastery of the demonstrated skills. When the employer determines the apprentice has mastered all of the skills and competencies in the Job Book, it is then reviewed before awarding the completion credential.
Related Technical Instruction & Classroom Training
Apprentices must successfully complete courses in industrial math, industrial communications, manufacturing technology systems and processes, industrial blueprint reading, OSHA 010 and First Aid/CPR to obtain their IMT registered apprenticeship credential.
185 hours of the related instruction will be standard in the program. These 185 hours include four modules of the MSSC Certified Production Technician curriculum. Each of these modules include an exam, which once completed, earns an apprentice a Certified Production Technician certificate, which is nationally recognized. The instruction also includes courses on interpersonal skills, lean manufacturing and practical problem solving. The additional 79 hours of related technical instruction can be customized to meet each company’s specific technical needs.
Trainings occur over an 18-month period:
| Classroom Training | Hours |
| Train the Trainer | 8 |
| Manufacturing Skills Standards Council (MSSC) Training | 90 |
| Communication/Math for the Trades | 30 |
| Lean 101 | 8 |
| Practical Problem Solving | 8 |
| Interpersonal Skills | 24 |
| OSHA 10 | 15 |
| Apprenticeship Support | 60 |
| Customized Training | 79 |
Grant Funding: Catalyst Connection currently has grant funding to help offset the above training costs for the program.
Need More Information?
Contact Mara Peduto at mpeduto@catalystconnection.org for eligibility or more information.