Nominations Now Open for 2024 SME Excellence in Manufacturing Training Award

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Aug. 28, 2023 – SME, the nonprofit committed to accelerating new manufacturing technology adoption and building North America’s talent and capabilities, has opened nominations for the 2024 SME Excellence in Manufacturing Training Award. Established in 2020, the award honors a manufacturer that demonstrates an exceptional commitment to upskilling their workforce, enhancing talent, and preparing new and incumbent employees for a successful career in manufacturing through innovative training programs.

SME understands the importance of having corporate recruitment, retention, and development strategies as key components of strategic planning for manufacturers of all sizes. While these strategies have always been important, the ongoing labor shortage in manufacturing, exacerbated by the pandemic, motivated the organization to document, celebrate, and share best practices in workforce development.

“The past winners of the SME Excellence in Manufacturing Training Award, including Millbank Manufacturing, The Boeing Company, AGC Automotive North America, and Intek Plastics, are true industrial role models for the entire industry,” said Jeannine Kunz, Chief Workforce Development Officer, SME. “The training programs they have developed and implemented are outstanding benchmarks for other companies seeking to build a workforce strategy. That is why honoring manufacturers who are dedicated to solving the industry’s most pressing challenge is so important.”

Nominations from any manufacturer are accepted until February 5th, 2024, and will be judged on the nominee’s ability to demonstrate the following:

• Alignment to business strategies
• Job definition
• Alignment and articulation of
• Quality of instruction
• Training infrastructure, environment, and acceptance
• Assessment and validation

The award recipient, to be announced in May, will receive an official award for display, participation in a Tooling U-SME webinar or podcast about their program, and recognition and publicity from SME. 

For more information and to apply, go to https://www.sme.org/aboutsme/awards/excellence-in-manufacturing-training-award.