Home » New partnership aimed at strengthening manufacturing in Ky.

New partnership aimed at strengthening manufacturing in Ky.

Frankfort, KY (June 16, 2016) – Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow (LIFT) announces a partnership with the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (KAM) to further increase awareness, innovation and education around advanced manufacturing and the manufacturing industry.

The partnership with KAM, as well as with manufacturing associations in Ohio and Indiana, marks a new era for understanding the needs of the manufacturing industry in those three states, as well as the benefits for manufacturers of LIFT and the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation Institutes.

LIFT, one of the founding members of the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), is a Detroit-based, public-private partnership committed to the development and deployment of advanced lightweight metals. Among its core strategies is a commitment to help ensure manufacturers have the talent supply chain they need to be successful in a global market.

The Kentucky Association of Manufacturers is made up of over 300 member companies, and is dedicated to promoting a climate in which our businesses can prosper on a local, national, and global scale.

“Workforce education is vital for our industry going forward,” said Greg Higdon, President & CEO, Kentucky Association of Manufacturers. “Not only do we need the workforce to fill the job openings we currently have, but we need the innovation to move the industry into the future.”

“Our goal is to develop an educated and skilled workforce confident in using new lightweighting technologies and processes,” said Emily Stover DeRocco, director of workforce and education development at LIFT. “Our partnership with the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers and its rich history of supporting the industry will help us achieve that mission and fill the talent pipeline to keep manufacturing strong in the Bluegrass state.”

The three state associations, with over 325 years of experience in serving as the backbone of their states’ economies and advocating for positive manufacturing policies, are partnering with LIFT, one of the founding members of the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), to support each other in advancing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and other workforce initiatives across the region.

Since its founding in late 2014, LIFT has funded nearly 20 education and workforce development initiatives across its five-state region, made up of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.