FORT WORTH, Texas (June 9, 2009) – The Alliance Global Logistics Hub is now the home of the new national logistics training program being instituted by the Washington, D.C.-based Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC), an industry-led standards-based, training, assessment and certification system focused on the core skills and knowledge needed by the nation’s production and supply chain logistics workers. The initial training is being funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The MSSC training and certification system provides a foundational-level Certified Logistics Associate (CLA) certificate and a mid-technical level Certified Logistics Technician (CLT) certification to participants.
“These industry-recognized, nationally-portable CLA/CLT credentials offer front line logistics workers their first opportunity to document their skills, provide a way to secure higher wages and promise career pathways in the rapidly modernizing logistics sector,” said Leo Reddy, CEO of the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council. “They apply to front-line workers across the entire supply chain: from factories, to warehouses, to distribution centers, to truck drivers responsible for handling materials.”
“These training programs and certifications are the collective efforts of our industry partners, MSSC and Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas, which was generously supported by the funding of the U.S. Department of Labor,” explained David Setzer, director of Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas.
In addition to being a site for student classes, the Alliance Global Logistics Hub is the national training center for instructors from across the country to learn how to teach the certification program at their respective company, college, or high school. All classes at Alliance will be conducted through the Tarrant County College – Corporate Services campus at the Alliance Global Logistics Hub.
“This certification will increase the value of those who complete the training, since they will have a certificate that is nationally recognized and promoted by the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council,” says Kay Lee, senior manager of TCC Corporate Services. “Alliance companies will benefit by having highly trained logistics professionals, which will improve efficiency and quality control at their facilities.”
Many of the 200 companies in the Alliance Global Logistics Hub helped formulate the program and have guaranteed job interviews to those students who complete the certification. Alliance companies involved in the program include Americold Logistics, Andersen Logistics, Behr, Bridgestone/Firestone, DSC Logistics, Exel Logistics, JCPenney, Motorola, Patterson Dental, Premium Waters, and W.W. Grainger.
“As the nation’s prototypical inland port logistics hub, Alliance is the natural location to launch this new logistics training program,” said Steve Boecking, vice president of Hillwood Properties, the developer of Alliance. “The logistics expertise of the companies that are here; the Alliance Opportunity Center, which helps companies meet their labor needs; and the Tarrant County College campus at Alliance will help provide the knowledge and support that will make this program a great success in training the next generation of logistics professionals.”
Partners in the training program include the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council, the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center, Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas, Workforce Solutions of Tarrant County, Tarrant County College, the North Texas Commission, and the Alliance Global Logistics Hub/Hillwood.
The new program is proving particularly helpful to military veterans and displaced workers. The program also will be beneficial to increase the training of current logistics employees.
“This project has created a true career pipeline for dislocated workers that are changing professions, students looking for careers in an ever expanding industry, and veterans who are transitioning from military to civilian life,” said Sal Adamski, business services manager of Workforce Solutions of Tarrant County. “Eventually our four-year colleges will be brought into the project to develop and expand logistic management programs.”
The certification system for supply chain logistics is modeled after the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council’s training, testing and credentialing system for the foundational skills of manufacturing production workers, which now is required for employment by many of the country’s top companies, under the MSSC-sanctioned Certified Production Technician (CPT) program.
The Alliance Global Logistics Hub is the prototype for an inland port logistics hub. In the nearly two decades since it opened, the development has attracted primarily distribution centers for more than 200 companies, more than 60 of which are ranked on the Fortune 500, Global 500 or Forbes List of Top Private Firms. These companies occupy 29 million square feet and employ 28,000 workers. Anchored by the BNSF Intermodal Facility, Fort Worth Alliance Airport and the FedEx Sorting Hub, and bisected by Interstate 35W – the NAFTA Freeway, the Alliance Global Logistics Hub is the nation’s top Foreign Trade Zone and features additional cost-saving features, such as a heavy-load container sector, Triple Freeport, a Centralized Examination Station and on-site U.S. Customs.
The Alliance Global Logistics Hub is part of Hillwood’s 17,000-acre AllianceTexas development that also includes the Monterra Village apartment home community, Alliance Town Center, the corporate campuses and golf courses of Circle T Ranch, and the Heritage and Saratoga residential communities.
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