Initiatives – http://sminet.org

Since 1994, SMI has built a regional networking model that empowers local manufacturers, educators, and community leaders to work together on common goals. The structure fosters leadership through convenience, communication, and a strong sense of community—making collaboration a practical business strategy rather than an occasional event. Each Regional Leadership Council serves as a hub where small and mid-sized manufacturers can share resources, align training needs, and engage directly with schools and policymakers. This approach keeps solutions local, measurable, and sustainable, ensuring that public and private investments deliver real value to companies and workers. With decades of experience mobilizing companies around shared priorities such as apprenticeships, mentoring, visibility, and workforce training, SMI’s regional model turns cooperation into a competitive advantage—strengthening both industry performance and community prosperity.

FastBreak is the core program of the Small Manufacturers Institute (SMI)—a proven model that changes students’ lives while empowering companies to grow a reliable, skilled workforce. Unlike traditional training programs, FastBreak recreates a high-performance, team-based work environment where students practice and master both technical and soft skills. The result is a pipeline of job-ready, motivated graduates who meet or exceed industry standards for math, reading, and workplace communication. Each regional FastBreak site serves up to 250 applicants per year through an 8-week, full-time, intensive program that combines computer-assisted learning, real-world problem solving, and collaborative instruction. Students spend 5½ days a week in a simulated workplace setting where they learn to meet deadlines, apply feedback, and build professional habits that employers value most. Graduates leave with certified math and reading proficiency—WorkKeys Level 4 or higher—and are proficient in word processing, spreadsheets, and essential workplace technology. More importantly, they demonstrate reliability, teamwork, and accountability proven over eight rigorous weeks of attendance, punctuality, and performance requirements. Employers know that a FastBreak graduate is a low-risk, high-value hire. The program’s impact is immediate: about 75% of students graduate, many moving directly into jobs, apprenticeships, or higher education. For employers, FastBreak functions as a pre-screening system that identifies motivated individuals who have already demonstrated discipline, drug-free compliance, and a commitment to learning. To ensure access for all, SMI also operates Step-Up, a preparatory track for students who enter below the eighth-grade level in reading or math. Step-Up provides the same immersive learning environment with mentoring and personal support—helping students overcome academic or social barriers until they are ready to enter FastBreak. Together, FastBreak and Step-Up form a powerful pathway that rebuilds confidence, raises achievement, and gives employers exactly what they’ve been asking for: qualified, dependable, and engaged new talent.

For more than three decades, the Small Manufacturers Institute (SMI) has led the effort to make Career-Technical Education (CTE) relevant and respected within California’s “college-at-all-costs” academic culture. Through its Regional Networks, SMI has brought national workforce models to California, generating more than $8 million in state-funded programs and engaging thousands of students and educators statewide. SMI was instrumental in expanding proven national frameworks, including: • Project Lead the Way – now in more than 1,200 schools statewide • National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) standards and certifications • VEX Robotics – reaching 650+ schools and 1,700 teams • Manufacturing Skills Standards Council (MSSC) programs Beyond statewide impact, SMI has worked directly with Los Angeles County schools to rebuild and sustain high-school manufacturing academies and, in 2017, helped reopen a middle-school shop program that now feeds into a high-school pathway. Through strong government and industry partnerships, SMI has coordinated the donation of more than $2 million in equipment and supplies, keeping vital shop programs alive during lean funding periods. Over the past 30 years, SMI has also funded and coordinated 470+ student internships and apprenticeships, connecting young people with real manufacturing careers—many of whom have gone on to become leaders in the very companies where they first trained.

SMI performs industry surveys and partners with key content providers and associations to create relevant improvement models. Creating meaningful outreach programs starts with informative data. SMI has worked with regional community colleges and school districts to write and manage public grants worth over 8 million dollars. Examples SMI research include: Regional State of Manufacturing surveys: Determining the needs and health of manufacturing companies in targeted areas. SMI also partners with community-based partners in identifying urgent needs from events such as the COVID-19 pandemic Barriers of the Aerospace and Defense Supply Chain: Validating a process that identifies barriers faced my lower tiered vendors Survey of California Industrial Teachers: What is the state of shop teachers in California? What is noteworthy, what needs improvement? Are shop teachers ready to retire? Highlighting the relevance of mechanical aptitude with the development of student intellect