FAME USA

Welcome to the official Prairie Land FAME LinkedIn account! FAME stands for the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education and has a network of chapters and employers all over the country. FAME USA chapters sponsor an earn-and-learn program for eligible students, where they work for local manufacturers, receive a paycheck, and earn a two-year associate degree. Our Prairie Land FAME chapter's sponsoring manufacturers are ADM, GSI, Mueller, and voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak, in partnership with Richland Community College for education. This means each eligible student in our first cohort will have the opportunity to work for one of the sponsoring manufacturers, while attending Richland. If this is something you or someone you know are interested in, reach out! We’d love to talk with you. Follow us to stay up-to-date with all things Prairie Land FAME!

FAME Built by Baldwin held their chapter meeting at the new Baldwin Preparatory Academy this morning. They were fortunate to be able to tour the facility as well.

A Big Thank You to the National FAME USA, TX FAME, and our local FAME chapter for allowing Palo Alto College to welcome visitors to see the amazing program we've collaboratively built together. Ashlynn Read did an amazing job coordinating this event and we are Alamo Colleges District proud. They toured our advanced manufacturing technology labs and met with our talented students, getting a firsthand look at the cutting-edge skills they're developing. A special shout-out to Maurice Salazar from Toyota Texas Manufacturing for their incredible partnership! Their apprenticeship program provides invaluable opportunities for our students, offering mentorship and real-world experience that sets them up for success. Thank you to Katie Chain for leading the tour, and to our dedicated faculty for hosting. We also appreciate our Vice President Patrick Lee, Dean Luis Fernandez, Director Cindy Galvan, and Nalleli Nuñez for taking the time to showcase our program. We're proud to be part of a network that's shaping the future of manufacturing! We'd love to invite more manufacturing companies to join this amazing network. #advancedmanufacturing #apprenticeship #workforcedevelopment #skillsgap #paloaltocollege #fameusa #toyota

Today’s Fireside Chat with Secretary Stewart Knox and Gardner Carrick highlighted the vital role of industry-education collaboration in building a resilient talent pipeline for the Central Valley. It’s truly inspiring to see how the combined efforts of our state leaders and industry representatives are creating pathways to local success. A special thank you to Secretary Stewart Knox for his ongoing support of the Central Valley and his dedication to advancing workforce partnerships with higher education—especially with our community colleges. His partnership has been instrumental in shaping initiatives that bring real opportunity to our region. I’d also like to recognize Genelle Taylor Kumpe and the San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance (SJVMA) for their incredible work supporting our local manufacturing sector, which fuels over 115,000 jobs and contributes more than $19.3 billion to the Valley’s GDP. Their commitment is foundational to creating stronger industry connections, and I’m excited to work together with Genelle and the SJVMA through the Center for Excellence to further bridge education and industry. And I’m proud to announce the official launch of the Central Valley FAME Chapter! This is a tremendous addition to our workforce initiatives, reinforcing State Center Community College District’s commitment to building career pathways and addressing workforce needs. With partners like Good Jobs 4 The Central Valley, Fresno EDC, and the San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance, FAME provides hands-on, industry-aligned training that prepares students for essential roles in our local economy and fortifies Central Valley industries. This collaboration represents a powerful step toward creating high-quality job opportunities for our diverse community and driving economic growth in the region. I look forward to seeing the positive impact FAME will bring to the Central Valley! #SJVMA #SanJoaquinValleyManufacturingAlliance #CaliforniaCommunityColleges #CentralValleyCommunityColleges #CAManufacturing #CALabor #CALWDA #USEDA #GoodJobsChallenge #BuildBackBetter #CaliforniaJobsFirst #MasterPlanforCareerEducation #CentralValleyFAME Special thanks to Stewart Knox, William Oliver at Fresno County EDC, and SJVMA

Calling all high school Seniors - class of 2025! We are proud to introduce our Prairie Land IL-FAME chapter program to our Decatur and surrounding community students! We are thrilled to work with Mueller Water Products, AGCO Corporation, voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak, and Richland Community College on this program! Our cohort students will spend three days a week at one of our sponsoring employers learning from senior colleagues and two days a week learning at RCC. What's the takeaway? You will earn a two-year degree in Engineering Technology with an Advanced Manufacturing Technology specialty and have real world work experience! Stop by and see us at Decatur Manufacturing Days on October 17 & 18, at Richland for more information! Hannah King and I will share more info! #newopportunties, #studentsuccess, #ittakesavillage, #FAMEUSA, #PrairieLandFAME

Check out 2025 Cohort class pictures! Thank you to all our member organizations for supporting these students and the FAME program!

GTCC's second FAME NC class had their Safety Culture Ceremony last week! Our incoming students gathered for the ceremony, each making a personal safety commitment to prioritize best practices in all areas of their lives and future careers. We are immensely proud of their dedication to creating a safer workplace for all! We look forward to seeing this cohort excel over the next two years and beyond! #GTCC #GuilfordTech #MakeAmazingHappen #FAMENC #FAME

The Community College Board’s tour of John Wood Community College new Workforce Development Center with its President Bryan Renfro, PhD was certainly impressive. Even more impressive was their leadership bringing FAME USA to Illinois in partnership with core #manufacturing partners to provide a “new model of manufacturing skills training.” This new partnership is providing economic mobility to their community in Quincy, IL. Congratulations! https://fame-usa.com

During our fall NAM Board of Directors meeting held in DC this past week, I had the pleasure of joining Devinder (Dev) Ahuja from Novelis and Carolyn L. with the Manufacturing Institute in a conversation about about FAME USA’s growth over the last five years. I’m proud that General Mills is a founding member of the Great River FAME Chapter in Illinois where students are being trained with manufacturing skills to join our future workforce. #iwork4generalmills #FAMEUSA #FAMEWorks #Manufacturing #Workforce

"Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with Megan Green at Blue Origin. Megan's passion for Work-Based Learning and the FAME program in North Alabama is truly inspiring. We are thrilled to be partnering with Blue Origin on these exciting initiatives." FAME USA Drake State Community and Technical College Alabama Community College System