Good People Are the Backbone of Manufacturing Success
Rhode Island manufacturers often embrace lean manufacturing framework of continuous improvement for products and processes. Fundamental to the philosophy is “Respect for All,” which includes continuous improvement for people.
In an era when serving a single company for ten or twenty years is uncommon, you can produce highly skilled and loyal team members by committing to workforce development.
Companies rise and fall based on their ability to hire and retain good people. While there is no perfect team, if you hire intelligently and support thoroughly, you can build a legacy of success.
Providing retraining for your current employees can help retain workers and avoid a gap in skilled labor. With training, these employees can learn the skills necessary to continue and advance in their roles, while also advancing your company’s bottom line.
Lindsey Brickle
Workforce Program Manager,
Polaris MEP
Solutions To Your Challenges
Lean Manufacturing
Workforce Development
Growth & Strategy
How We Help
ON-THE-JOB TRAINING
Boost the impact of your employee development efforts with help from Polaris MEP’s “black belt” trainers.
- Lean enterprise, continuous improvement,
- quality management systems,
- succession planning, and more.
We also “train the trainers” through proven TWI Job Methods, Job Instruction, Job Relations courses.
Watch your team transform before your eyes!
RETIRING WORKFORCE
Due to the quickly approaching retirement of baby boomers, reports indicate the manufacturing sector could lose up to 40% of its skilled employees by 2024.
Polaris MEP can help you capture the knowledge of seasoned workers and leverage it to more quickly upskill younger workers. We also connect business owners to Resource specialists in succession planning to improve resilience.
DIRECT CONNECTION TO RI DLT
Polaris MEP works closely with the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training’s “Real Jobs Rhode Island” program as well as Skills for Rhode Island’s Future, among other partners.
We know which resources offer recruitment and/or grants to meet your team development needs. Polaris MEP can help your company access these programs to hire and train a more complete workforce.
PARTNERSHIPS
Polaris MEP works with a number of government, industry, and educational workforce development partners throughout the state of Rhode Island to
- hire,
- mentor,
- train, or
- retrain
- manufacturing employees.
Through us, you can support your employees from the date of their first hire through the end of their career.
ON-DEMAND TRAINING
Our new partnership with Tooling U – SME intros 4 new ways to quickly ramp up the capabilities of a new hire, or cross train/upscale current employees.
- Certified Manufacturing Associate (CMfgA),
- Machining,
- Maintenance and
- Smart Manufacturing.
Commitment to Your Team
- Get hiring, training assistance, and funding from Polaris MEP and the Rhode Island Department of Labor & Training.
- Retain your existing workforce by supporting them with training throughout their career.
- Develop programs specific to your particular hiring and retention needs.
Related
How Can Companies Improve Sustainability Efforts?
How Can Companies Improve Sustainability Efforts? Supply chain sustainability is quickly moving from “nice to have” to “must have” for manufacturers that want to stay on preferred supplier lists. In a feature for Material Handling & Logistics, Indrani de Silva...
The Toll of Tariffs
The Toll of Tariffs In 2025, factories and manufacturers were hit with the sudden and unexpected expense of higher tariffs. For many, this threw businesses into turmoil as they struggled to find materials, which in turn caused supply chain disruptions, and increased...
AI in Manufacturing: What’s Now—and What’s Next?
AI in Manufacturing: What's Now—and What's Next? IndustryWeek’s coverage by MIT Professor Wojciech Matusik spotlights artificial intelligence as a transformative force in manufacturing, pushing adoption beyond experimentation to everyday business impact. AI-powered...
The Fast Track program has been a blessing. Prospective workers are starting to get trained on what employers need now. That’s the key to the program’s success. I’ve got a student right now programming complex milling machines for aerospace products, and a year ago he was designing kitchen cabinets.
Chris Goodwin
Vice President, Goodwin-Bradley Company
Category: Hire & Retain Talent
What Level Of Risk Are You Comfortable With?
In a new post, Center Director Kathie Mahoney discusses risk versus return & the reality of cyber-security risk for small manufacturers.
Cranston Patch: RI Starting Manufacturing Jobs Program for Woman Inmates
Cranston Patch: Governor McKee said that the RI Department of Corrections is teaming with Polaris MEP to create a manufacturing jobs pilot program for woman inmates.
3D Scanning to Facility Layout with Functional 3D
VIDEO: 3D scanning technology is available and offers very real benefits to small and medium-sized RI manufacturers.
Strategies and Funding to Develop and Retain Employees in a Tight Labor Market
VIDEO: Polaris MEP and Tooling U present options to develop and maintain your workforce for Rhode Island manufacturers.
New MEP National Network Infographic Explores Reshoring
A new reshoring infographic from the MEP National Network offers data on this manufacturing trend as well as reasons buyers want #MadeInUSA.
Providence Business First: Polaris MEP seeks input as RI manufacturing economy rebounds
Providence Business First reports that Polaris MEP is expanding and diversifying its advisory board as the RI manufacturing economy rebounds.
Write Better Job Descriptions to Attract Better Candidates
RI Manufacturers can attract better candidates by writing better job descriptions. Polaris MEP’s Workforce Coordinator offers four tips.
Polaris MEP Seeks Advisory Board Members to Move RI Manufacturing Forward
Polaris MEP is expanding its Advisory Board of Directors, to support its mission to strengthen RI’s small and medium-sized manufacturers.
Food giveaway caters to Rhode Island’s Southeast Asian community
Polaris MEP was proud to support the Center for Southeast Asians “Year of the Tiger” on the 12th in Providence.
Lean Tip – Coming Down on DOWNTIME
VIDEO: Polaris MEP’s Lean Tip series explores how to identify the source of wastes (DOWNTIME) using lean manufacturing tactics.