Community colleges are expanding targeted credentials and certificate programs to meet a decades-long shortage of skilled manufacturing workers. The Rutgers Education and Employment Research Center reports that community colleges’ proximity to local industry, affordability and ability to deliver credit-bearing, stackable credentials make them a practical alternative to scarce apprenticeship models. Clark State College in Ohio, for example, now offers up to 14 manufacturing certificates that can apply toward a bachelor’s degree, reflecting an industry-driven Developing A Curriculum model. Shalin Jyotishi of New America and community-college leaders argue the U.S. apprenticeship system reaches only a sliver of students—about 2%—so colleges are positioning themselves as the closest substitute for on-the-job training that also preserves credit transferability. Administrators and workforce partners say rapid curricular updates and employer input are the mechanisms that let community colleges scale programs aligned to advanced-manufacturing technologies.