The Manufacturers' Association, a regional trade agency, created two new positions and appointed Becky Becker to training and business development manager and Joe Amato to automation and maintenance coordinator. The association, founded in 1906, is the voice of manufacturing for hundreds of member and nonmember organizations in southcentral Pennsylvania and northern Maryland.

Becker, a human resources (HR) professional, has a background in training, consulting and HR management. She has been a contract trainer with the Manufacturers' Association for the past five years and prior to joining the association, Becker worked at Herbein-Mosteller, a regional CPA and HR consulting firm, as an HR consultant and at Pryor Learning.

Becker has traveled extensively as a national trainer, conducting seminars on topics such as HR and payroll, and established her own consulting company, Work4Accord in 2017. In the past, Becker has served as the director of HR for a multistate nonprofit organization and taught as an adjunct professor at Penn-State York.

Becker has received several accolades, including being named the 2010 York Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) HR Professional of the Year and serving as a past York SHRM president. She holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma and has earned the Senior Professional in Human Resources and Senior Certified Professional designations.

In her new role as training and business development manager, Becker will instruct the association's leadership training programs, manage the Navy talent pipeline initiative and develop business opportunities through training outreach.

Amato brings technical skills and management experience to his new role, including multiple Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) industry certifications from ABB Robotics, Omron Automation and Wittman Robotics. Amato is also experienced in using calibration tools, instrumentation, safety and longevity evaluations on aerospace ground, marine vehicles, and industrial equipment and automation. He has had technical roles at a contract manufacturer and has earned an occupational associate degree and FAA Airframe and Power Plant certification where he worked at Westcoast Aviation Services & Corporate Jet Solutions in Florida.

In his new role as automation and maintenance coordinator, Amato will provide technical skilled training for apprentices and non-apprentices, which will support regional manufacturing companies. The association's apprenticeship program has grown three times in the last four years and currently has more than 55 manufacturers that access the program. Amato is responsible for establishing and directing training systems and conducting classroom, self-paced learning and practical instruction to provide technical knowledge for maintenance and automation programs. Amato will instruct training to other maintenance mechanics, analyzing current operating problems and future operating requirements to identify training needs to develop training programs.

Founded in 1906, the Manufacturers' Association supports manufacturers with knowledge to operate, hire and train. To learn more, visit http://www.mascpa.org,