Minnesota Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Program (MnAMP)

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Learn Work Earn: Closing the Skills Gap in Minnesota

Nearly half of Minnesota’s Fortune 500 companies operate in manufacturing, including industry leaders such as 3M, Medtronic, General Mills, Land O’Lakes, Hormel Foods, and Ecolab (1). Funded by a TAACCCT grant, the MnAMP launched the Learn Work Earn project, a workforce solution bringing 12 community colleges, industry, state leadership, and manufacturing associations together to standardize manufacturing-based curriculum at partner organizations. The project enabled Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)-eligible workers, veterans, and other adult learners to gain the skills needed to enter into advanced manufacturing specific to mechatronics, machining, and welding.

MnAMP included a Registered Apprenticeship program, which, as of 2017, had more than 60 Registered Apprentices at over 20 employers. Under the Registered Apprenticeship program, students have an opportunity to receive on-the-job training while getting paid and attending school. And their earning potential is bright: the average manufacturing salary in Minnesota is $59,565, 21 percent higher than all other industries in Minnesota (2).

1. “Minnesota Manufacturing Matters,” Learn Work Earn: A Minnesota Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Project, n.d., http://www.mnamp.net/careers/minnesota-manufacturing-matters.
2. “The average annual wage for Minnesota manufacturing jobs was $65,728, 16% percent higher than the average wage for all industries.” link: https://www.enterpriseminnesota.org/about-us/manufacturing-in-minnesota