SoINFAME

What SoINFAME does

SoINFAME (Southern Indiana Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education) is a regional workforce development chapter affiliated with the national FAME network, operating from Vincennes, Indiana. Its flagship offering is the Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT) Program, a two-year Associate Degree delivered in partnership with Vincennes University. Students attend classroom instruction three days per week (eight or more contact hours) and complete paid apprenticeships the remaining two days at sponsoring manufacturers, with total program cost of approximately $35,000 offset by wages of up to $40,000 or more over the two years. The model is explicitly designed to produce debt-free graduates into skilled technician roles, which the National Association of Manufacturers identifies as the No. 1 unfilled U.S. job opening.

The business operates as a partnership rather than a traditional venture-backed company. Revenue mechanics flow primarily through Vincennes University tuition and employer sponsorship contributions; SoINFAME itself has no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, and no M&A history. The employer sponsor roster includes Toyota Indiana as a flagship partner alongside Hershey, AmeriQual, Farbest Foods, Amcor, and TBIN, spanning automotive, food, and packaging manufacturing. Distribution combines Vincennes University's admissions infrastructure, direct-to-student digital recruitment via soinfame.com, and high school CTE/PLTW pipeline outreach.

The organization is structured as a B2B2C model where manufacturers serve as both sponsors and downstream employers of graduates. Marketing is segmented across students, parents, and educators with dedicated messaging and downloadable fact sheets. The 2024 graduation cohort is documented at approximately 50+ graduates, and applications are currently open for the Fall 2027 cohort, indicating a steady annual cadence rather than hyper-growth.

Name

SoINFAME

Legal name

SoINFAME (Southern INFAME)

Website

https://soinfame.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SoINFAME is a regional FAME workforce development chapter in Vincennes, Indiana that operates the Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT) Program — a two-year, debt-free Associate Degree combining classroom instruction at Vincennes University with paid apprenticeships at sponsoring manufacturers including Toyota Indiana, Hershey, and Amcor.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Development & Manufacturing Education

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (61151), Apprenticeship Training (611513)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDABALAP

Industrial Manufacturing

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/Industry-Specific Professional Training (e.g., Healthcare, Manufacturing, Construction)

SECONDARYEDABAKAK

Production & Manufacturing Operations (TPM, OEE, SMED)

Education/Corporate Training & Professional Development/Operations, Quality & Lean/Six Sigma Training

Keywords

• Advanced manufacturing education
• Workforce development training
• Manufacturing technician program
• Work-study apprenticeship
• Associate degree manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Vincennes

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Student Tuition: Students pay tuition to Vincennes University for the two-year Associate Degree program. Tuition, housing, books, and fees total approximately $35,000 over two years. Students offset costs through wages earned from sponsoring companies.
2. Employer Sponsorship: Manufacturing companies pay to sponsor students in the program, gaining access to a pipeline of pre-trained talent. Sponsors receive two years of real-world evaluation of candidates before hiring decisions, providing workforce development ROI. No explicit cost mentioned for employer sponsorship.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SoINFAME operates the Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT) Program, a two-year Associate Degree workforce development initiative that combines classroom instruction at Vincennes University (three days per week, eight or more contact hours) with paid work experience at sponsoring manufacturing companies (two days per week). Students earn competitive wages designed to cover tuition and living expenses while gaining two years of real-world manufacturing experience, enabling a debt-free pathway into skilled technician careers with employer sponsors.

Product overview

SoINFAME (Southern INFAME) operates as a workforce development organization offering the Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT) Program in partnership with Vincennes University. The AMT Program is a single, unified two-year Associate Degree pathway that combines technical classroom instruction with paid apprenticeship-style employment at sponsoring manufacturing companies. There are no separate product modules, add-ons, or platform components—the program is delivered as an integrated work-study experience where students rotate between academic coursework and on-the-job training at employer partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT) Program: Two-year Associate Degree program combining classroom instruction at Vincennes University with paid work experience at sponsoring manufacturers

Products and services

• Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT) Program A two-year Associate Degree program combining cutting-edge classroom instruction at Vincennes University (three days per week, eight or more contact hours of industry-expert instruction) with paid work experience at sponsoring manufacturers (two days per week). Students earn competitive wages designed to cover tuition, fees, and personal expenses while gaining two full years of on-the-job manufacturing experience. Graduates are positioned for the No. 1 unfilled job opening in the U.S. (Skilled Technician) and can transition to direct employment with sponsoring companies or pursue a Bachelor's Degree while working full-time.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students can earn up to $40,000+ in wages from sponsoring companies over the two-year program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Vincennes UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary educational partner providing classroom facilities, academic credentials (Associate Degree), and instructional support for the AMT program. Students attend classes at Vincennes University three days per week with eight or more contact hours of instruction from industry experts.
• FAME (Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization for the Southern Indiana chapter (SoINFAME). FAME is the national network of manufacturing education programs that developed the AMT curriculum and approach used by regional chapters across the country.
• Toyota IndianaflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlagship employer sponsor providing paid work experience for AMT students. Quote from Chris Melvin: 'Employers who are searching for the best and brightest are well served by the AMT program. The team members we've on-boarded have been well trained and exceptional additions to the TOYOTA INDIANA workforce.'
• The Hershey CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor employer sponsor hiring AMT graduates for controls technician and other manufacturing roles. 2023 Distinguished AMT Graduate Shannon Benock now works as a Controls Technician at Hershey.
• AmeriQualcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood manufacturing employer sponsor participating in the AMT program workforce development initiative. Listed as one of the 'World-Class Manufacturers' in the employer section.
• Farbest FoodscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood manufacturing employer sponsor participating in the AMT program workforce development initiative. Listed as one of the 'World-Class Manufacturers' in the employer section.
• AmcorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPackaging manufacturer employer sponsor participating in the AMT program workforce development initiative. Listed as one of the 'World-Class Manufacturers' in the employer section.
• TBINcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManufacturing employer sponsor (likely Toyota Boshoku America or related) participating in the AMT program workforce development initiative. Listed as one of the 'World-Class Manufacturers' in the employer section.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tooling U-SME: Major provider of online manufacturing skills training and workforce development content for manufacturers. Competes for the same employer training budget and offers an alternative delivery model (digital vs. work-study).
• Indiana Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (IN-FAME): The parent state-level FAME organization of which SoINFAME is a regional chapter. Operates the same AMT work-study model with Vincennes University and other Indiana partners, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME USA): National network that developed the AMT curriculum SoINFAME uses. Coordinates cross-state chapters running the same earn-while-you-learn manufacturing technician model.

Emerging players

• AmSkills: Workforce development nonprofit focused on manufacturing and skilled trades training in Tampa Bay, Florida. Shares SoINFAME's mission of building manufacturing talent pipelines through employer-aligned training.

Others

• Project Lead The Way (PLTW): K-12 STEM and Career & Technical Education curriculum provider. SoINFAME explicitly weights PLTW participation in its admissions criteria, making PLTW an upstream feeder and ecosystem peer in the same manufacturing-talent pipeline.
• National Association of Manufacturers (NAM): Industry trade body that publishes the skilled-technician shortage statistics SoINFAME relies on. Drives federal workforce policy and convenes employers around apprenticeship and training initiatives that shape SoINFAME's competitive landscape.

Broad incumbents

• Vincennes University: Core academic partner that delivers the AMT Associate Degree. Operates a much broader catalog of technical and academic programs in Indiana and could be considered both a partner and an institutional incumbent in the same workforce training space.
• Ivy Tech Community College: Indiana's statewide community college system offering technical degrees, workforce certifications, and apprenticeship-style programs. Represents the largest incumbent competitor for manufacturing technician training in the state.

Regional players

• Cincinnati State Workforce Development Center: Operates co-op and apprenticeship-style manufacturing technician programs in the Cincinnati metro, a short drive from Vincennes. Comparable two-year earn-and-learn model with regional employer sponsors.
• Pellissippi State Community College: Tennessee community college offering advanced manufacturing technician and mechatronics programs with employer co-op structures similar to SoINFAME's work-study design.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SoINFAME
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soinfame

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SoINFAME