First of Its Kind Regional Collaboration with the Virginia Manufacturers Association, Manufacturing Skills Institute, West Virginia Manufacturers Association & Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association
Enrollment: Manufacturers interested in participating in Path to Prime should email Wes Smith, Executive Director of the MSI, at [email protected] to enroll or request program information.
The Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association is proud to announce its participation in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Empower to Grow (E2G) Program. Through this grant, awarded to the Virginia Manufacturers Association and its national workforce-development division, the Manufacturing Skills Institute (MSI), PMA will serve as the exclusive Pennsylvania partner delivering the new Path to Prime Program, designed to help small manufacturers in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania gain access to opportunities in federal procurement and the defense industrial supply chain. Path to Prime creates a regional “front door” for manufacturers seeking to become qualified federal suppliers, strengthening both manufacturing economic competitiveness and the U.S. federal supplier industrial base.
The E2G Grant Initiative reflects SBA’s focus on rebuilding American manufacturing by equipping small firms with the skills, compliance readiness, and industry connections they need to win federal work. Small manufacturers across Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania make the parts that the defense industrial base depends on, yet too few are in the federal supply chain. Most are held back by the same obstacles: a shortage of skilled workers, cybersecurity requirements they cannot meet, digital engineering capabilities they have not needed until now, and no direct line to the buyers.
Path to Prime closes those gaps. The program pairs hands-on training and industry-recognized workforce credentials with digital-twin manufacturing labs, CMMC compliance readiness, and direct engagement with prime contractors. Firms enter with a capability gap and leave qualified to bid.
The Virginia Manufacturers Association (VMA) and Manufacturing Skills Institute (MSI) will partner with the West Virginia Manufacturers Association (WVMA) and the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association (PMA) to establish a coordinated support network across SBA Region III. The program is designed to serve E2G-eligible manufacturers across the three-state region.
“For over a century, PMA has stood for one proposition: that Pennsylvania’s manufacturers deserve the chance to compete and win, here in the Commonwealth and everywhere their capabilities can take them,” said David N. Taylor, President & CEO of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association. “Too many capable Pennsylvania manufacturers have been locked out of the federal supply chain, not for lack of skill, but for lack of the training, credentials, and connections it takes to get in the door. Path to Prime removes those barriers at no cost to our members. It is exactly the kind of pro-growth partnership PMA exists to deliver: real capability, real contracts, real jobs.”
Program Benefits
- Improves access to federal contracting opportunities by helping small manufacturers become contract-ready and more competitive for federal procurement.
- Builds cybersecurity compliance through CMMC Level 1 and Level 2 readiness support, including advisory services, training, and mock assessments
- Opens access to digital engineering through a regional Digital Twin Manufacturing Lab Network built on Siemens tools
- Delivers industry-recognized credentials through customized on-site and cohort-based training
- Connects firms directly to prime contractors through supplier readiness assessments and matchmaking events
Expected Outcomes
- New contract bids submitted by participating manufacturers.
- New contract or subcontract awards.
- New teaming agreements.
- Skilled manufacturing jobs created and retained.
- CMMC certification readiness.
Together, the VMA, WVMA, and PMA have established a strong foundation for delivering scalable solutions that support manufacturer competitiveness, workforce excellence, and supply chain resilience throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.