ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) has released an article written by Leo Reddy, CEO of MSSC. The article was published in the October issue of Manufacturing Leadership Journal entitled, "Closing the Skills Gap: Industry certifications can go a long way toward fixing a stubborn problem for manufacturers – finding the skilled workers they need."

Tracing the steady rise of industry and federal support for industry-defined skill standards and certifications through successive Presidential Administrations, both Democratic and Republican, Reddy observes that a nationwide movement is now underway in support of well-established certifications that are industry recognized and nationally portable.

"Zero-cost" steps to increase industry demand for these certifications include:

• Adoption of company-preferred national certifications in existing hiring and promotion practices.
• Company communication with governors of states where companies have operations informing them of company hiring preference for job applicants with those certifications.
• Large company recommendation to their suppliers to use national certifications as a quality enhancement measure.

For additional steps and a full text of Mr. Reddy's article please go to www.msscusa.org/events.

About the Manufacturing Leadership Journal: This Journal is published and distributed digitally to some 20,000 manufacturing executives globally by Frost and Sullivan, an international consultancy and publisher.

For more information, visit www.msscusa.org.