The Manufacturing Institute, the workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers, announced the creation of a new chapter of the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME USA) in partnership with Grow Quad Cities and Eastern Iowa Community Colleges.
FAME USA is an employer-led solution that provides workforce development through technical training, integration of manufacturing core competencies, professional practices and intentional hands-on experience.
The new two-year apprenticeship-style training program at EICC allows students to earn while they learn to become highly skilled advanced maintenance technicians. Students spend two days a week in the classroom and three days a week with a sponsoring employer to get hands-on experience on the shop floor. At the end of their two years, they will have accrued over 2,000 hours of hands-on training and earned an associate degree in industrial maintenance.
The new IA FAME – Riverbend chapter will be housed at EICC’s Blong Technology Center in partnership with Grow Quad Cities and seven local manufacturing companies: Amcor Global Rigid Packaging Solutions, LMT Defense, Novelis, Oertel Metal Works, PCT Ebeam and Integration, Smith Filter and SSAB.
The MI convened the partners for IA FAME – Riverbend for two years to conduct research into local workforce needs and to build community support for FAME. Grow Quad Cities’ annual Top 100 High Priority Jobs Report, released in August 2025, showed high local demand for industrial machinery mechanics, machinists and mobile heavy equipment mechanics.
"FAME has been adopted positively by global manufacturing companies for the past 15 years, and we’re ready to demonstrate that the Quad Cities is serious about developing manufacturing professionals to satisfy this occupational need that will only grow in the years to come," Grow Quad Cities Vice President of Business Retention & Expansion Workforce Chris Caves said.
With support from the Arconic Foundation, the MI advanced its FAME efforts by partnering with Grow Quad Cities to convene local employers and launch the newest FAME chapter.
The manufacturers creating the FAME chapter will partner with EICC to support the FAME model locally.
IA FAME – Riverbend is the first FAME chapter in Iowa, expanding FAME USA’s footprint to 17 states, with 45 locations nationwide. Originally started in 2010 by Toyota Motor North America to train the automaker’s maintenance technicians, the MI took over FAME operations to scale the program in 2019. As of 2025, FAME brings together nearly 500 companies employing more than 1,200 students annually with 2,700 graduates and growing.
The first cohort of 10 students will start in fall 2026 and will graduate ready to join the manufacturing workforce in spring 2028.
