Manufacturing Trainer

Job Description

Job Description

Manufacturing Trainer

Two Positions · One in Pennsylvania · One in West Virginia

Virginia Manufacturers Association | Manufacturing Skills Institute

About VMA and MSI

The Virginia Manufacturers Association (VMA) has been the Commonwealth's leading manufacturing trade association and industry advocate for 104 years, representing Virginia's manufacturers since 1922. VMA delivers this program through its national workforce education affiliate, the Manufacturing Skills Institute (MSI), which builds the talent pipeline that manufacturers across the country need to compete and grow.

Together, VMA-MSI operates Registered Apprenticeship training, manufacturing skill credentials, employer training, and a national Made-in-America credentialing network.

About the Program

These positions support Path to Prime, a VMA-MSI program expanding hands-on manufacturing training and industry-recognized credentials for small manufacturers across Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The program is funded through the U.S. Small Business Administration Empower to Grow (E2G) grant awarded to VMA-MSI in 2026.

In Pennsylvania and West Virginia, VMA-MSI works alongside the state manufacturing associations, who serve as in-state partners. Their coordinators know the manufacturers in their state and identify which firms need help. You are the person who delivers it.

About the Role

VMA-MSI is hiring two Manufacturing Trainers for this program: one based in Pennsylvania and one based in West Virginia. The two positions are identical in scope and differ only in the state served. You apply for the position in your state, and the two trainers work as counterparts, sharing what they learn as the program runs.

You will teach production workers at manufacturers across your state and move them through MSI's industry-recognized credentials.

This is a teaching job. You will run hands-on, in-person training for working machinists, operators, technicians, and frontline supervisors, taking them through MSI's credential programs: Manufacturing Technician Level 1 (MT1), Manufacturing Specialist (MS), World Class Manufacturing (WCM), Manufacturing Frontline Leader (MFL), Industrial Safety Readiness Training (ISRT), OSHA 10 and OSHA 30, and the Advanced Manufacturing Machine Operator (AMMO) Registered Apprenticeship.

You are MSI's presence in your state. You work from a home office, deliver training on manufacturing floors and in employer training spaces, and use the Path to Prime partner program site hosted by the state manufacturing association. You will come to the Richmond office periodically for training and grant team meetings.

VMA-MSI also installs advanced manufacturing equipment at that program site, including a 3D printer, a metrology scanner, a PLC training rig, condition-monitoring equipment, and AR and VR systems. You do not need digital twin or Siemens software expertise to do this job, and we are not asking you to teach that material. VMA-MSI has a dedicated technologist and a Siemens solution partner who handle that side of the lab. The equipment is there if it strengthens a session you are running, and our team supports you in using it. Your job is the credential training and the hands-on instruction manufacturers need on their own floors.

This is a collaborative instructor role, not a solo one. Manufacturers are not the only organizations in your state working on this problem. Community colleges, technical and career centers, universities, workforce boards, and other trade associations are training the same workforce, and part of your job is working alongside them rather than around them. That can mean bringing MSI credentials to an education partner's students, helping their instructors get up to speed on our credential programs, co-delivering a session, sharing curriculum, or connecting a manufacturer to a local program that already meets their need. Where another organization is better positioned to serve a firm, you point the firm to them.

Alongside the standard credential programs, you will customize training for individual employers. When a manufacturer needs something the catalog does not cover, you will work with them to understand what their people need and build a program that fits, drawing on MSI's existing curriculum library.

You are based in your state, but you are part of the VMA-MSI team in Virginia. You are not a remote hire left to figure it out alone. The MSI curriculum team works with you on credential content and on building custom programs for your employers, so you are adapting from an existing library rather than authoring from a blank page. MSI's credentialing operation handles certification, testing, and credential records. The program's multimedia producer builds training media to support your sessions, including media shot on your employers' own equipment. The Richmond lab staff support the advanced manufacturing equipment at your program site. The project team handles employer assignments, scheduling support, and reporting.

You will meet regularly with the Virginia team by video and come to Richmond periodically for training and grant team meetings. Your counterpart in the other state is doing the same job you are, and the two of you are expected to compare notes.

This role suits a generalist. You do not need to be the deepest expert in any one discipline, but you do need to understand how a production floor actually works and be able to teach across the range of skills it takes to run one. This role is for someone who is credible in front of a crew. The people in your sessions are working adults with real production experience. They will know within ten minutes whether you have actually done the work.

You do not need to arrive already certified in MSI's programs. VMA-MSI will certify you to instruct the MSI credentials you will be teaching.

Key Responsibilities

Training Delivery

• Deliver hands-on, in-person training to production workers at participating manufacturers across your state

• Teach MSI industry-recognized credential programs, including MT1, Manufacturing Specialist, World Class Manufacturing, Manufacturing Frontline Leader, ISRT, and OSHA 10 and OSHA 30

• Support delivery of the Advanced Manufacturing Machine Operator (AMMO) Registered Apprenticeship

• Instruct participants ranging from frontline production workers to machine operators, technicians, and frontline supervisors

• Draw on the equipment at the partner program site, with support from VMA-MSI's lab staff, where it strengthens a session

Employer Engagement and Needs Assessment

• Work with the state association's in-state coordinators, who identify and refer participating manufacturers

• Meet with manufacturers to understand their operations, workforce, and training priorities

• Conduct workforce needs assessments to identify skill gaps and recommend training solutions

• Present MSI credential programs and custom offerings to owners, plant managers, and supervisors

Employer-Customized Training

• Adapt and customize MSI training programs to fit employer-specific requirements, drawing on MSI's existing curriculum library and curriculum team

• Translate needs assessment findings into a scoped training plan for each employer

• Follow up with employers after delivery to confirm the training met the need and identify next steps

Education and Partner Collaboration

• Work with community colleges, technical and career centers, universities, and other education partners in your state to extend MSI credential programs to their students and instructors

• Support education partner instructors in delivering MSI credential content, including co-delivery and instructor familiarization where it helps

• Coordinate with other trade associations, workforce boards, and state and local workforce partners serving the same manufacturers

• Refer manufacturers to an education or workforce partner when that organization is better positioned to meet the need, and follow up to confirm the firm got the help

• Represent VMA-MSI at partner convenings, industry events, and joint outreach in your state

Working With the Virginia Team

• Work with the MSI curriculum team on credential content, custom program development, and credential alignment

• Draw on MSI's credentialing operation for certification, testing, and participant credential records

• Coordinate with the program's Multimedia Producer on training media, including media captured at your employers' facilities

• Coordinate with VMA-MSI lab staff on the advanced manufacturing equipment at your program site

• Participate in regular team check-ins by video and in grant team meetings in Richmond

• Share what is working with your counterpart trainer in the other state

Scheduling and Coordination

• Schedule and coordinate training sessions with participating companies and the in-state coordinators

• Coordinate with the project team on scheduling, site logistics, and employer assignments

Documentation and Outcomes

• Document training delivery, participant completion, and credential progress

• Capture participant and employer feedback to improve subsequent sessions

• Maintain records to the standard required for federal grant performance reporting

Required Qualifications

• Residence in Pennsylvania or West Virginia, in the state you are applying to serve

• Journeyman-level or equivalent manufacturing experience

• Working understanding of manufacturing production processes and the ability to teach across the range of skills a production floor requires

• Industrial training or instruction experience

• Comfort working directly with business owners, plant managers, and supervisors, including assessing needs and presenting recommendations

• Ability to travel to participating companies across your state as needed to deliver training, and to Richmond, Virginia periodically

• Valid driver's license and a clean driving record

• Self-directed; able to run a delivery schedule across multiple employers from a home office without close supervision

Preferred Qualifications

• Broad production experience across multiple areas of a manufacturing operation rather than a single specialty

• Experience training incumbent workers rather than entry-level students

• Familiarity with industry-recognized manufacturing credentials such as MT1, OSHA 10 and 30, or Registered Apprenticeship frameworks

• Experience adapting training content to different employers, audiences, or skill levels

• Existing knowledge of the manufacturing base in your state

• Experience working with community colleges, technical or career centers, universities, workforce boards, or other trade associations

• Experience in employer engagement or consultative work in a manufacturing or workforce setting

About This Position's Term

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible term position with the Virginia Manufacturers Association. You are a VMA employee from your first day, with the same health, dental, vision, retirement, and paid leave benefits as any other full-time employee.

The position is funded under the SBA Empower to Grow grant supporting Path to Prime. The grant's period of performance ends in September 2027, and the position is funded through and concludes with that term. We state this plainly at the outset so that you can plan around it rather than be surprised by it.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

This is a hybrid, home-office based position. Training is delivered in person on active manufacturing floors, in employer training spaces, and at the Path to Prime partner program site in your state. The role requires regular in-state travel, standing for extended periods, use of personal protective equipment, and transporting training materials and equipment to company sites. Periodic travel to the Richmond, Virginia office is required for training and grant team meetings, and some travel requires overnight stays.

The Virginia Manufacturers Association is the only statewide association in Virginia exclusively dedicated to manufacturers and their allies, serving as the industry’s advocate since 1922. We partner with leading Virginia companies to assess, train, and place candidates into high-quality manufacturing careers across the Commonwealth.

Company Description

The Virginia Manufacturers Association is the only statewide association in Virginia exclusively dedicated to manufacturers and their allies, serving as the industry’s advocate since 1922. We partner with leading Virginia companies to assess, train, and place candidates into high-quality manufacturing careers across the Commonwealth.