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The 2023 Workforce Development Word of the Year is …

As 2022 came to a close, I was as amazed as I am every year by all the “___ of the Year” lists. It seems like every media outlet creates its own list of the year’s 10 best books, and then there’s the Sherwin-Williams Color of the Year, the Merriam-Webster Word of the Year, and so on. This got me thinking – what if workforce development had its own word of the year? But instead of looking backward, this word should inspire us for the coming year. What if we could pick one concept that guides all our efforts for 2023? Of course, this is just my humble opinion – but aren’t all these lists just

Bill Donohue

Bill Donohue is President of Virginia’s GENEDGE Alliance. The company, in its 27th year, is a Commonwealth of VA political subdivision which is the best public resource in VA helping companies Innovate, Compete and Grow. Bill leads a regionally deployed network of talented consultants who are responsible for improving the…

Anthony Cerilli

Anthony (Tony) Cerilli is the Interim MEP Center Director at GENEDGE, where he leads Virginia’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Center and oversees manufacturing extension services delivered across the Commonwealth. In this role, Tony is focused on helping small and medium-sized manufacturers innovate, compete, and grow through high-impact consulting and technical…

Infographic: Training: Responding to the Skills Gap

There aren’t enough workers to meet U.S. manufacturers’ needs. A 2021 survey by the National Association of Manufacturers found that 80% of companies say their top challenge is the inability to attract and retain a quality workforce. The situation will worsen as baby boomers continue to retire. Adding to the challenge, the “great resignation” has resulted in people looking for more flexible and rewarding work. According to Deloitte, there could be 2.1 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2030. A new infographic, Training: Responding to the Skills Gap, describes both common workforce

When in Crisis, Manufacturers Can Look to Kata

There is more to lean manufacturing than improving a few processes. Sustainable lean success requires a companywide culture of continuous daily improvement. Companies that develop their people to think scientifically, using facts and data to drive their decisions, are often the ones that most successfully achieve their goals. Practicing Toyota Kata, or kata, promotes this way of thinking, which can help companies become nimbler and more competitive so that they are able to not just survive but thrive during an adverse event such as a pandemic. Kata is a Japanese word that refers to a

The Semiconductor Manufacturing Innovation Institute

About PowerAmerica PowerAmerica, a public-private partnership between industry, the U.S. Department of Energy, national labs, and academia, seeks to save energy and create U.S. manufacturing jobs by accelerating the development and large-scale adoption of wide bandgap semiconductor technology. What is a wide bandgap semiconductor? Wide bandgap semiconductors operate at much…

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), §2.2 3700 et. seq. of the Code of Virginia, guarantees citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media access to public records held by public bodies, public officials, and public employees. A public record is any writing or recording – regardless of…