MxD
MxD is a nonprofit organization. Learn more at https://www.mxdusa.org/
Introductory Conversations and Assessment
How organizations conduct initial needs assessment with employers, introduce workforce development in general as well as their own organization’s programs, and gauge whether an employer could benefit from workforce development programs.
Learning About Employers' Needs
- During an initial employer meeting, MxD presents a standardized PowerPoint presentation to outline the Capital Program details and course offerings. The primary goal is to assess the skills and identify the types of employees who will complete the training.
- Importantly, Workforce Development Associates work with the employer to establish a dedicated Programmatic Point of Contact responsible for defining required competencies and managing the logistics for employees entering the training.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Introducing Workforce Development Opportunities
As a member of Manufacturing USA, a national network of regional institutes each with a specialized technology focus, MxD connects employers to specialized opportunities. When an employer’s needs fall outside of MxD’s focus, MxD refers them to the applicable institute within the network. The goal is to support employers on a continuous learning pathway, whether it is through the Manufacturing USA connections or with alternate providers like local community colleges and workforce development organizations.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Introducing Your Organization
- YJC utilizes its three-year strategic plan as a primary tool to introduce services and align with employer interests. This plan communicates the mission, vision, and service offerings, allowing potential partners to identify specific areas for collaboration.
- The organization emphasizes the work readiness training and support services provided to participants, highlighting the emphasis that the programming places on advancing soft skills and basic competencies. By consistently delivering candidates who are prepared for the workplace, YJC maintains its reputation for excellence and credibility with its employer partners.
- YJC offers customized soft and hard skills training opportunities for employers based on their needs.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Trevor Trieschmann in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Evaluating Employer Suitability
- MxD’s goal is to connect with as many learners as possible. This is achieved by partnering with a range of employers across different industries. There is no specific criterion for organizations that become members of MxD; this allows room for supporting manufacturers wherever they are on their digital adoption journey.
- When connecting with an employer, it is important to assess the specific skills and competencies the organization intends to develop within its team. MxD focuses its training specifically on skills and competencies of the future. If an organization requires alternate training, such as welding, for example, MxD may refer the employer to a trusted provider while also developing a long-term plan for how MxD can support that organization in the future with upskilling and employee development.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Establishing Employer Relationships
Ways that organizations follow up or otherwise build relationships with potential employer partners. How do organizations keep employers’ interest and stay top of mind, despite how busy they may be?
Following Up via Phone and/or Email
- The MxD Engagement Team, led by the Director of Engagement and supported by an Engagement Manager, maintains a regular meeting cadence, typically ranging from monthly check-ins to bi-weekly strategy sessions, depending on the member’s current initiatives or event schedule. These interactions are designed to ensure that organizations are fully leveraging available resources and benefits.
- The Engagement Team actively identifies opportunities to connect members with the right partners, resources, and opportunities, and coordinates logistics for members hosting events or workshops at the MxD facility.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Employer Visits to Service Provider Locations
- MxD operates an innovative manufacturing facility designed specifically for industry collaboration and events. The space, which sees approximately 10,000 to 12,000 visitors annually, serves as a neutral ground where employers can engage with MxD and others in the ecosystem through both formal programming and informal, day-to-day interactions.
- The facility features a variety of collaborative environments, including conference-style rooms and a theater-style auditorium.
- MxD utilizes these spaces to host workshops and events as a neutral convener on behalf of members; execute joint programming in partnership with member organizations; and provide private event space for members to lead their own strategic initiatives.
- Members at a certain tier of membership can utilize the floor for their own purposes, such as to showcase their own technologies and or deliver sales presentations in a real-world manufacturing environment.
- Many partners maintain dedicated office space within the facility. Colocating office space allows for valuable informal interactions between members and MxD that extend far beyond the standard monthly meeting cadence.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Service Provider Visits to Employer Workplace
- By visiting a member’s production floor, MxD team members can gain a firsthand understanding of an employer organization. This allows the MxD team to witness successful use cases and identify specific areas where they can refer the organization to additional resources or technologies.
- Because members range from those in the early stages of digital adoption to those with highly advanced systems, these visits allow MxD to accurately assess where an employer sits on their transformation journey.
- It is common practice for MxD to hold kickoff meetings at a new member’s location.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Job Fairs and Hiring Events
- MxD does not host hiring events at this time. In 2026, the organization will begin hosting career-focused events where employers can connect directly with talent.
- MxD attends hiring events to talk to employers about its offerings. The organization informally connects employers with individuals who have completed training and provides manufacturers at career events with the resources that they may need to source talent and train existing employees.
- The primary goal of all events at MxD is to really just convene the network, which includes manufacturers, academic institutions, and government institutions, to come together to solve critical manufacturing challenges. Many events are open to the public for a fee, while members receive a discounted or complimentary admission.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Metrics and Financial Factors
How organizations collect and share information about expected outcomes and potential financial rewards and incentives.
Sharing Metrics and Return on Investment with Employers
- MxD shares aggregated data, including course ratings and high-level impact metrics, and anonymized testimonials with employers through social media campaigns.
- To help guide programming, MxD shares disaggregated data and success metrics with its Workforce Advisory Committee. The committee reviews hard data to ensure deliverables and outcomes align with industry needs.
- Members that participate in the Capital Training program receive customized training reports. Depending on an employer’s membership level, they can gain direct access to advanced reporting capabilities. These partners receive a white-labeled microsite that serves as a dedicated learning management system for the employer. Through the site, users have full administrative capabilities to run specific reports tailored to their unique workforce development goals.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Gathering Data to Track Employer Metrics
- MxD uses a mix of accessible data tools and advanced platforms to monitor employer metrics. The organization collects employer feedback through Microsoft Forms and tracks individual learner data using Excel.
- MxD implemented a customized learning management system sourced from the provider Absorb. The system has significantly improved MxD’s ability to collect high-volume data and generate comprehensive reports. The platform functions as an informal CRM, allowing MxD to provide employers with detailed insights regarding the specific training their staff has completed.
- Depending on an employer’s membership level, they can gain direct access to advanced reporting capabilities. These partners receive a white-labeled microsite that serves as a dedicated learning management system for the employer. Through the site, users have full administrative capabilities to run specific reports tailored to their unique workforce development goals.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Organizational Level Considerations
How organizations are set up to build partnerships with employers, and how they leverage relationships with other organizations for better outcomes.
Organizational Structure, Resourcing, and Staffing
- MxD engages employers through its Membership and Workforce Development Teams.
- The Membership Team serves as the primary entry point, managing the membership experience. They serve as a filter, directing employers to research and development opportunities or workforce initiatives based on their specific needs. This team consists of two staff members.
- The Workforce Development Team is led by the Director of Workforce Development and includes two Workforce Development Associates. This team manages technical partnerships, with a particular focus on administering the Capital Program training. Their responsibilities include providing technical assistance and gathering feedback on employee upskilling.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Collaborating with Other Organizations
- MxD has very strong partnerships with organizations.
- Some partnerships are developed based on funding opportunities that allow organizations to come together. One example is a former partnership that MxD had with the College of Lake County. The college provided training to participants that MxD recruited and identified.
- MxD refers training participants to employers within their membership network for job placement opportunities. This is a practice that the organization intends to develop further in 2026.
- Some collaborations are based on the expertise of an organization. For example, MxD partnered with the University of Michigan and other Manufacturing USA institutes to develop the Workforce Readiness Guides.
- MxD partners with organizations to co-deliver content in a workshop or training forum, as well as hosting a partner’s content on the MxD website.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Challenges
Common challenges and how organizations typically respond to them.
Workforce Development Jargon
- MxD has recently transitioned its traditional Hiring Guides to what are now known as Workforce Readiness Guides. In environments where organizations are not actively recruiting, the term “hiring” can be off-putting. MxD received feedback that employers didn’t think they could find value in the guide because they weren’t adding headcount.
- The rebranded Workforce Readiness Guide focuses on providing information to help employers with recruiting, upskilling, general workforce planning, identifying talent sources, and more.
- To comply with Executive Order 14151, MxD has updated the language throughout its program materials and curriculum. The organization uses terms such as opportunity youth or underengaged populations to describe participants. These shifts in terminology allow MxD to better align its outreach and provide access to those who have historically been excluded from manufacturing opportunities.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Ensuring Compliance with Progammatic and Funding Requirements
- At MxD, the Compliance Team works closely with employer partners to ensure all program standards are met. Funding primarily comes from government sources or philanthropic organizations that have specific grant requirements.
- For example, employers participating in the capital program sign a Pilot Partner Agreement. The agreement clearly outlines the details of the partnership. MxD provides courses and technical assistance at no cost, while the employer commits to transparency and reporting.
- Employers agree to:
- complete follow-up assessments, at 90-days and beyond, to track the program’s impact;
- provide data on employee satisfaction and performance; and
- report on whether training led to tangible results, such as raises, promotions, or increased eligibility for advancement.
- The Membership Team supports this process by sending monthly reminders to employers about data collection.
- Additionally, employees are offered one-on-one interviews, allowing them to provide more detailed course feedback.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Handling Objections from Employers
- MxD is intentional about proactively removing barriers to access by offering courses at no cost and providing multiple delivery options to maximize accessibility.
- Employers often voice concerns regarding the time required for staff to complete training and provide feedback. MxD addresses this by limiting the number of hours required to complete a course and by offering courses virtually and asynchronously, allowing employees to learn at their own pace.
- Employers frequently ask what distinguishes MxD’s curriculum from others, considering the online training industry is a saturated market. To address this, MxD ensures that all courses lead to a third-party certification.
- Industry members have conducted comprehensive reviews of the curriculum to ensure it meets technical standards and in-demand needs. When an individual completes a program, they receive a third-party certification that signals to the employer that the trainee has mastered a curriculum verified by industry peers.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
Handling Challenges
- Because an organization’s development needs evolve over time, membership may not always follow a linear path. Some employers may exit membership once a certain level of adoption is reached and return years later when they are ready for the next phase of growth, while others navigate in and out of membership depending on the organization’s larger goals.
- MxD strategically times its engagements to provide resources and training opportunities early during the membership period, typically within six-weeks to demonstrate immediate, actionable value from the partnership.
This content is based on interviews or email correspondence with Angela Accurso in 2025. This content has NOT yet been signed off by the organization.
