On August 26, manufacturers, educators and economic developers met at Continental Tire in Clinton to begin building Mississippi’s first chapter of the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education, or FAME. The Hinds County Economic Development Authority (HCEDA) is leading the effort in partnership with South Central Mississippi Works.
Six manufacturers attended, along with Hinds Community College, AccelerateMS, and economic developers from Rankin and Hinds counties, with support from Madison and Warren counties. Paul Thomas of FAME USA walked through the model, and Continental Tire shared how its apprenticeship and internship programs have built its own technician pipeline. By the end of the morning, the region had a partnership structure and a timeline.
What FAME is
Toyota created FAME in 2010 to solve a common problem: finding technicians who can keep sophisticated equipment running. It paired a community college degree with paid work on the plant floor, and it worked well enough that other manufacturers joined. Today FAME USA has 46 chapters in 17 states, more than 450 participating manufacturers, more than 3,000 graduates and a 95 percent placement rate. Alabama alone has more than a dozen chapters. Until now, Mississippi had none.
How it will work here
- Spring 2027: An after-school advanced manufacturing program for area high school students. At the end, participating manufacturers interview students and select their FAME-sponsored students.
- Fall 2027: The first cohort starts the two-year Advanced Manufacturing Technician program at Hinds Community College, in class two to three days a week and paid to work at their sponsoring company the other two to three.
- Graduation: After five semesters, students earn an Associate of Applied Science degree, a FAME certificate and two years of work experience, usually with a job offer.
Why it matters
A FAME student earns a paycheck from the first semester and often finishes with little or no debt. Manufacturers get a two-year working interview and technicians trained to their standards. The region gets a pipeline that renews itself: a new cohort every fall, and a new class of skilled technicians every two years.
This story first appeared in the October 2026 issue of Central Update, CMPDD’s quarterly newsletter. Find this issue and past editions on our Publications page.