There's no shortage of training classes for manufacturing personnel. Consider lean manufacturing, which involves using less of everything compared to mass production: less human effort, less manufacturing space, less investment in tools, and less engineering time to develop a new product.
The Nebraska Business Development Center (Omaha, NE) is offering a series of courses called Principles of Lean Manufacturing. The courses begin in February, 2008. Go here for more information: http://nbdc.unomaha.edu/lean/leancertificate.cfm
Meanwhile, the Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (Asheville, NC) is offering lean manufacturing courses, running from November 12-16, 2007. Go here for details: http://www.abtech.edu/business/training/lean.htm
A site worth checking for article summaries on training in manufacturing is at:
http://www.astd.org/content/research/doYourOwn/freeReadingList/traininginManufacturing.htm
Mike Keating