About
Solving the Skills Gap. Building Oklahoma’s Future.
The Manufacturing Skills Academy is more than a traditional training program. We are an innovative, employer-led workforce solution designed to build our state’s—and the country’s—next generation of manufacturing talent.
We’ve aligned theory with practice to create professionals who are job-ready from day one.
Helping Youth Step In to Skill Up
Building New Skills
We create and identify pipelines to employment in manufacturing.
Supporting OK’s Future Workforce
We provide meaningful employment opportunities to participants.
Boosting the Labor Force
We are making a positive impact on the labor force participation rate.
Supporting the State
Our work will lead to increased employment, sales, and taxes.
For decades, manufacturers have faced a critical skills gap, leaving employers with unfilled jobs and young people without a clear path to a sustainable career. We are built to bridge that gap.
Our solution is a new, integrated framework gaining national attention. The Manufacturing Skills Academy operates as a working manufacturing facility, producing real components for real customers with a focus on re-shoring production to Oklahoma.
Participants (aged 18-24) are treated as professionals from day one. In our “Earn-and-Learn” model, they master the technical and employability skills our partners need.
This genuine work-based learning, combined with dedicated mentorship and consistent support from staff and instructors, ensures our graduates are not just trained—they are proven professionals.
Framework & Features
1. Focus on Youth (18-24)
2. Collaborate with Education, Non-Profit, & Workforce Partners
3. Students Earn-and-Learn Model Directed from Critical Occupations
4. Focus on the Development of Employment Readiness Skills
5. Employer-led Partnership
6. Product Focus on Re-shoring Components to Oklahoma
7. Working Manufacturing Facility
8. Mentors
Our Key Principles
Our mission is guided by five principles that create a culture of excellence, accountability, and opportunity for everyone involved with the Manufacturing Skills Academy:
- Foster the development of the necessary manufacturing technical skills to allow participants to move into employment and/or further training.
- Foster the development and improvement of employability skills that transcend a particular technology or job category.
- Create genuine work-based learning opportunities through job shadows, site visits, and manufacturing of real products.
- Create a shared responsibility between program participants, staff and instructors, mentors, and other COMA members of ongoing skill development.
- Build strong and positive relationships between program participants, staff, instructors, and members.
Our History
The MSA grew out of the work of Dr. Sharon Harrison, a recognized expert in manufacturing workforce development. In 2020, she completed research that underpins the five-core research-derived principles for the MSA.
The Central Oklahoma Manufacturers Association (COMA) President, David Younge, and Harrison Consulting Group (HCG) Founder, Sharon Harrison, have long shared an interest in how to engage young people with careers in manufacturing, helping them on a pathway to well-paying and sustainable jobs. Taking advantage of research conducted by Dr. Harrison, the vast experience of Mr. Younge and his fellow COMA members, and funding opportunities from the state and federal governments, the partnership conducted additional research and planning to make the MSA a reality.
In 2023, that work came to fruition when HCG wrote and applied for a grant, drawing in COMA as a key partner for a start-up under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), with Dr. Harrison as the Principal Investigator. Before the ARPA award, formal planning for the MSA started in 2021. Using this funding, HCG conducted additional research and stakeholder engagement to refine the MSA framework. This formative process combined research into national and international models through on-the-ground formal discussions and fact-finding with key stakeholders in and out of COMA.
The project partners recognized that, for the MSA to be successful and sustainable, it must be rooted in the best practices of other successful programs and the unique needs of the local communities and stakeholders. In addition to COMA members, people from the Oklahoma City Public Schools, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, and the Central Oklahoma Workforce Innovation Board brought their perspectives to the table. Others included representatives from the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technical Education, Oklahoma Center of Science and Technology, Oklahoma Department of Commerce, and over 48 individual manufacturers.
Meet Our Team
Sharon
President and CEO
Stewart
Director of Workforce and Operations
Monte
CNC Supervisor
Toby
CNC Learning Manager
Trey
Employment Readiness Coordinator
AJ
Operations Coordinator
Alex
HR and Payroll
Jeff
Technical Instructor
James
CNC Instructor
Camren
Operations Support
See Our Impact in Action
The Manufacturing Skills Academy is here to help talent and opportunity connect—delivering powerful benefits to participants, businesses, and Oklahoma as a whole. Connect with us to become a partner or to learn about opportunities for employers.
