MxD has launched the Curriculum and Pathways Integrating Technology and Learning (CAPITAL) skills development program. The CAPITAL program, supported by $6.2 million in federal funding, is designed to address the anticipated shortage of two million manufacturing workers and provide resources directly aimed at meeting current and emerging workforce needs.

In executing this program, MxD will develop certification-based manufacturing training courses and extend them to manufacturers, including those within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB). CAPITAL will help current students and workers as well as future members of the workforce develop the skills and training they need to ensure the DIB can effectively deploy advanced manufacturing technologies within U.S. factories––strengthening national security and increasing U.S. manufacturing’s global competitiveness.

CAPITAL will include courses and certifications that train workers for the most critical digital manufacturing roles, including AI, and cybersecurity for manufacturing.

“Eighty percent of U.S. manufacturers ranked attracting and retaining a quality workforce as one of their greatest challenges,” said Berardino Baratta, CEO of MxD. “CAPITAL will both properly prepare the future workforce and bring current workers up to speed. The future of U.S. manufacturing hinges on our collective ability to close, or at least narrow, the impending skills gap.”