Tony Davis applauds local chapter efforts, emphasizes the importance of workforce development and the need for skilled technicians
Investments in the manufacturing sector are expected to soar in the coming years. If all goes as expected, employers could face a significant challenge: a tight labor market.
That’s why programs like Kentucky FAME — Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education — are so critical and why FAME USA National Director Tony Davis takes every opportunity to speak to groups like the one gathered Monday for the Somerset-Pulaski Economic Development Authority (SPEDA) Industrial Leaders Breakfast. Employers like those who filled the room at Somerset Community College’s Valley Oak campus need skilled employees, and there just aren’t enough to go around, Davis said.
“The reality is, we just don’t have enough people in manufacturing,” Davis told the group. “And unfortunately, a lot of folks we have in manufacturing or who are wanting to move into manufacturing don’t have the skills that we really need in manufacturing either, and that’s a real challenge for us.”
Davis emphasized the importance of workforce development and the need for skilled technicians, describing how FAME supports the manufacturing sector in this endeavor. FAME is a partnership of regional manufacturers whose purpose is to implement career-pathway, apprenticeship-style educational programs that create a pipeline of skilled workers. The organization has grown from 20 locations in nine states to over 45 chapters across 16 states, supporting over 450 manufacturers and graduating 2,200 students.
Locally, the KY FAME Cumberlands Chapter is affiliated with Somerset Community College and 20 industry partners and has produced more than 150 graduates since forming in 2015. SPEDA serves as the hub entity for the Cumberlands Chapter, providing important administrative and operational support so that employers can focus on recruiting and training students.
Those students have been integral to the success of local employers like UGN and American Woodmark, who shared their positive experiences during the breakfast. KY FAME Cumberlands Chapter Vice President Jeremy Brown, who has worked for both of those companies, stressed how important this program has been to his recruitment efforts. “For the last 11 years, it has been the sole pipeline for every technical person that I’ve hired,” Brown said.
“It has been the pipeline for us to get our technically skilled, talented people into the program instead of just hiring the good operator that was a shadetree mechanic that could handle tools. That’s just not the world we live in in manufacturing now,” Brown said. “I mean, we’re bringing in vision systems and robotics and controls. The guy that can drop an engine on the weekend is not going to succeed in that environment. That’s just not where we’re at anymore. They have to have those skills.”
FAME students are matched with a manufacturing partner to learn about electricity, fluid power, mechanics, fabrication, and robotics in the classroom and through on-the-job training. At the end of the five-semester program, they earn an associate degree in applied science in industrial maintenance technology, certification as an advanced manufacturing technician, and two years of paid work experience — ready to enter the workforce full-time with the technical and professional skills they need to succeed.
SCC President Dr. Carey Castle spoke about the effectiveness of the FAME program and the college’s commitment to helping it grow.
“This model really does work,” Castle said. “I’ve been a part of a couple of partnerships in different states where we work with individual companies to do training for their folks at their request, and they were successful, but not like here. Being the education partner, we’re very proud to be a part of this group.”
Davis said that many of these students progress beyond the advanced manufacturing technician level once they enter the workforce, either earning their bachelor’s degree or training for other positions within their company. But the heart of this program is partnerships, and right now, he said, developing more of those with employers and educational institutions of all levels to get more students in the pipeline is more important than ever.
“Think about what you can do together,” Davis said. “That’s really what this is all about. What can we do together, working together as employers, with our college partner and our community partners? What can we do together to change things in our community, to build more awareness of how important manufacturing is, to build awareness of what we’re doing in these facilities, to build more awareness and a better pipeline across the age range, to build awareness of what the opportunities are when you complete the program and how it changes lives?”
The KY FAME Cumberlands Chapter is still accepting applications for the fall 2025 class. Interested students can apply here: https://fame-usa.com/fame-program-locations/kentucky-fame/cumberlands-chapter/
For more information about how to get involved in the KY FAME Cumberlands Chapter as an industry partner, contact SPEDA Chief Financial Officer Jessica Carlton at jessica@speda.org or (606) 425-5409.
