On June 1, the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) will publicly launch an "Industry 4.0" update of its signature Certified Production Technician (CPT®)  industry-wide training and certification program applicable to some six million front-line manufacturing production workers.

 

Based on extensive research with leading industry subject matter experts, MSSC has selected a list of nine rapidly emerging, data-intensive, "Industry 4.0" technologies that will profoundly influence manufacturing production processes and quality control: 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT), Additive (3D) Manufacturing, Autonomous Robots, Augmented Reality, Data Analytics, Nanomanufacturing, and Advanced Materials. MSSC has embedded these technologies in its 2020 "Industry 4.0" Edition of its National Production Standards.

What does this mean for the MSSC Community? Starting June 1, 2020, these "4.0" technologies will be fully integrated into CPT curriculum, instructor training and assessments. MSSC manufacturing certificates and certifications issued after that date will be re-labelled "CPT 4.0." MSSC's goal is to provide CPT 4.0 technicians with a foundational understanding of these technologies on which to build as their companies use them in various ways on the factory floor.

The timing could not be better!

IMMEDIATE USE: CPT 4.0 is an ideal industry certification for students, job seekers and incumbent workers to secure right now, when COVID-19 has caused schools to close and factories to reduce production. On June 1, CPT 4.0 will be available on-line, including certification assessments, at low cost and rapidly. For example, individuals who can commit 30-35 hours per week can earn the full CPT 4.0 Certification in 6-8 weeks.

Then, as manufacturing begins its anticipated resurgence later in the year, CPT 4.0 certificants will have a decisive advantage in the workplace. Prestigious, industry-recognized, nationally portable CPT 4.0 credentials will give them a critical edge in the sharpened competition for jobs at a time of record unemployment.

LOOKING AHEAD: As described by MSSC Chair, Leo Reddy and Reshoring Initiative President, Harry Moser's May 18 Industry Week article, entitled ' Made in America' Needs an Industry 4.0 Skills Update, our nation is now seeing the emergence of a "mega trend" in American manufacturing towards optimally self-sufficient supply chains. By leveraging a production workforce upskilled to the "4.0" level, this trend will also produce higher levels of productivity, competitiveness and economic growth.

For information on how to use CPT 4.0, please contact Catherine Feeney, Senior Marketing Manager, MSSC [email protected]