Coalitions
From findings to action
Finding the gaps is not the hard part. Acting on them, together, is. AMRAC, the Advanced Manufacturing Regional Action Coalition, is the county-by-county table where manufacturers, instructors, college faculty, and workforce and economic development staff turn an assessment into decisions.
How a coalition works
- It starts with the assessment. The findings are the agenda.
- It meets a few times a year, in a school or college shop when it can.
- Members decide what the region will do about each gap: which program anchors which skill, what equipment moves where, who hosts tours and internships, what to ask funders for.
- It keeps score. Every session revisits what was decided last time.
What members do
Manufacturers set the bar and offer what they can: tours, donated materials and equipment, classroom visits, advisory seats, internships. Instructors bring the program reality. Colleges connect the pathway. Workforce and economic development staff bring the funding picture.
Clackamas County, the working example
Five convenings since 2024 with about 30 people in the room each time. In May 2026 the coalition agreed to serve as the standing industry advisory committee for area CTE programs. Two districts stopped duplicating each other: Estacada anchors machining and CNC while Molalla builds the welding hub, with their first shared student cohort planned. Next session: Tuesday, November 10, 2026, Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, Roger Rook Hall 111AB.
Where AMWIC fits
Four regions of measurement taught the partners one recurring lesson: finding the gaps is not the hard part, funding the fixes is. The American Manufacturing & Workforce Innovation Collaborative (AMWIC) is the nonprofit those partners stood up in response, a dedicated organization to steward the regional coalitions and channel funding toward the gaps each region measures. Its founding board was seated in spring 2026. [Update once the 501(c)(3) application is filed.]