We help manufacturing companies in Southwest Virginia find or develop skilled workers. The many benefits of being an Alliance member are possible through our national and local partnerships and various affiliations.

A professional staff centrally located in Abingdon, Va., and singularly dedicated to improving manufacturing workforce skills in your county.

Dream It Do It Training Categories Reimbursable (1)
under Tobacco Commission Grant # 1513
Occupational Skills (2) & (3)
• Welding
......o MIG
......o TIG
......o Plasma Cutting
......o Plasma Welding
......o Robotic
• Machining
......o Machine operator
......o Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) programmer
......o Millwright
......o Tool and die maker
• Plant Maintenance
......o Process equipment mechanic
......o Hydraulic and pneumatic technician
......o Electro-mechanical systems technician
• Process-specific
......o Production machine training
......o Robotic production
......o Material handling
• Computer-based Process Training
......o Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM)
......o Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Programming
• Manufacturing Production Process Improvement
......o Lean manufacturing processes
......o Six sigma process improvement
......o Total quality management

(1) All Occupational Skills training reimbursements from the Tobacco Commission will be made based upon a 50 percent matching investment by the requester. All expenses for training must be paid and documented and 50 percent of the cost will be reimbursed following approvals by the Board of Directors of the Southwest Virginia Alliance for Manufacturing, Inc., the Smyth-Washington Regional Industrial Facilities Authority and the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission staff.

(2) The major categories are examples of training that will be reimbursed under the Tobacco Commission grant. Reimbursements can include, but are not limited to the subcategories listed. Any non-listed subcategory will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Alliance Board and the Tobacco Commission.

(3) Soft-skills training and federally-mandated safety programs, such as OSHA requirements and forklift training, will not be reimbursed under the Tobacco Commission grant.

• Partnership with Manufacturing Institute – Dream It. Do It Manufacturing Careers Program:
• Virginia-oriented Advanced Manufacturing Job Board: Lists your career opportunities and career seekers.
• Interactive Dream It Do It Kiosks in area high schools and community colleges.
• E-newsletter
• Multi-media advertising for manufacturing worker recruitment and careers education:
......o Radio and TV
......o Newspapers
......o Promotional brochures
......o Posters for use in high schools, area colleges
......o Media interviews and articles
• Forum for industry management dialog and networking for strong human resource management interaction.
• Advanced institutional and governmental searches for public and private grant funds to support SVAM goals.
• Access to the Virginia Council on Advanced Technology Skills (VCATS) Manufacturing Technician Multi-Level Certification Assessment and Training.