SME is cheering a recent executive order by President Barack Obama starting a review of America’s training programs.

SME — formerly the Society of Manufacturing Engineers — said that many companies are having trouble finding the skilled workers needed to maintain the country’s manufacturing base.

“Today, visiting a GE facility in Waukesha, Wis., President Obama talked about his job training initiative to identify successful local programs and duplicate and expand them,” Jeannine Kunz, managing director of workforce and education for SME, said Jan. 30.  “We are happy to introduce the president and vice president – who will be overseeing this effort – to existing programs throughout the U.S. that can serve as models for the rest of the country to build a strong workforce."