Path to Prime
You can build it. Now get qualified to bid it.
Manufacturers get shut out of federal and prime contract work on compliance, digital capability, and workforce skills. Rarely on whether they can make the part. Path to Prime covers all of it, at no cost to eligible manufacturers in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Not sure whether you qualify? Most firms are not sure either, and working that out is our job.
$4,847,026 awarded by the U.S. Small Business Administration | September 30, 2026 through September 29, 2027
Why this exists
The country is trying to bring critical supply chains home. That work runs through small manufacturers, and primes can only buy from firms that clear the compliance and capability bar. Most shops have never had a practical way to get there.
SBA funded the Virginia Manufacturers Association and its workforce affiliate, the Manufacturing Skills Institute, to run Path to Prime and close that gap: courses, hands-on training, and one-on-one consulting on operations, compliance, workforce, and federal contracting. All of it at no cost to eligible firms.
We run it with the West Virginia Manufacturers Association (WVMA) and the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association (PMA), so the program reaches manufacturers in all three states.
The point is to put more American manufacturers in a position to win the work.
Where firms get stopped
Compliance. Federal contract work now carries cybersecurity requirements, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) among them, that most small manufacturers have not built. Those requirements flow down through subcontracts and teaming agreements too. No compliance, no contract, regardless of what you can make.
Capability. Primes want digital engineering deliverables: model-based definition, simulation, digital twin work. Most shops your size have never had access to the software or to anyone who can teach it.
Skills. The work is there, and your team is not trained for it yet. Hiring your way out of that is not realistic in this labor market.
Paperwork. Buyers qualify a new supplier on documentation long before anyone looks at your parts. Registrations, capability statements, quality records, and a supplier questionnaire that quietly decides whether you make the list.
Visibility. And if the buyer has never heard of you, none of the rest matters. Most small shops never get in front of the people doing the buying.
Cost. Readiness work can expose investments your operation may need to make. Better visibility into spending can help you decide what to address first and where savings may support the work.
What we do about it
Every part of this comes with someone to work through it with you. Not a class you attend and a binder you take home.
Cybersecurity and CMMC
First, we tell you what you actually need. Some firms need less than they think, and a few need nothing at all. Then Level 1 self-assessment support, Level 2 readiness, and an independent mock assessment against all 110 controls, so you find out what an assessor will find before an assessor finds it.
Siemens digital manufacturing
We are building three Siemens-equipped labs, one each in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and putting your engineers in them. NX, Tecnomatix Plant Simulation, Process Simulate, additive manufacturing, and a collaborative robot cell, on our licenses and our hardware, taught by people who work with these tools for a living.
Your team leaves with capability you keep, not a demo they watched. No software purchase, no cost to you.
Workforce training
Ten industry-recognized credentials, hands-on, across four areas:
- Production and technical skills. Manufacturing Technician Level 1 (MT1), Manufacturing Specialist (MS), and the Machine Operator Apprenticeship.
- Process improvement. World Class Manufacturing (WCM) and Certified Industrial Energy Auditor.
- Safety. OSHA 10, OSHA 30, and Industrial Readiness Safety Training (ISRT).
- Leadership and building your own bench. Manufacturing Frontline Leader (MFL) and MT1 Trainer Certification, so you can run MT1 in-house yourself.
Your people can also train in our Siemens labs. That is training on the software rather than a credential, and it is worth doing alongside the ten above.
Training runs in all three states. Cohorts run at our Richmond facility and at WVMA and PMA partner sites, or we can bring the equipment and instructor to your floor. We can also build it around your machines and processes.
Getting qualified as a supplier
Registrations, capability statements, quality documentation, and the supplier questionnaires primes send before they add a source are one-on-one work, not a class. We go through what a specific buyer asks for and get your file into that shape.
Matchmaking
Two ways. Our team works directly with primes and Tier 1 buyers, and when what you make aligns with what one of them is sourcing, we make the introduction. We are also scheduling matchmaking sessions and supplier briefings across Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and we prepare you for them so you walk in knowing what the buyer will ask.
Buyers work on their own timeline and qualify on their own criteria. What we can affect is whether you are in front of them and whether your file holds up when they open it. That is the part we work.
Cost intelligence
Path to Prime can show you where your operation needs to improve. You’re still responsible for paying for those improvements. You may request a complimentary SpendVue™ assessment with ERA Group to gain a clearer view of spending, savings opportunities, supplier performance, and risk. SpendVue™ consolidates spend data across suppliers, sites, and categories and turns it into prioritized, executive-ready insights.
How it works
- Tell us about your operation.
- We call within one business day and confirm whether you are eligible.
- Our team works out what your operation needs and writes a plan with you.
- You take the parts that solve your problem. Most firms do not take everything.
How long you have
You can use these resources from September 30, 2026, through September 29, 2027.
Capacity is limited, and we schedule firms as they enroll.
Who this is for
Small manufacturers in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The SBA counts most manufacturers with 500 employees or fewer as small, and many manufacturing industries have higher thresholds. If you assumed you were too big, you are probably not.
You do not need to hold a federal contract or to have ever bid on one. A lot of the firms we work with are trying to get there for the first time.
Beyond size, eligibility comes down to a short list of things we check for you rather than things you have to research. If you are not sure, start below, and we will work it out.
It costs nothing to find out.
What you get
Cybersecurity and CMMC
How do we know what we need, or whether we need anything at all?
That is the first thing we work out with you, and it is worth doing before you spend a dollar. Your CMMC level is set by what data you manage, not by how big you are. We read your contracts and flow-down clauses with you, and we help you work out which of your systems are in play, which is where most of the cost hides.
We will tell you if you do not need this. Not every manufacturer does, and buying compliance you are not required to hold is an expensive way to feel prepared.
What is the difference between Level 1 and Level 2?
Level 1 is 15 basic requirements; you assess yourself, and a senior person at your company signs off annually. No outside assessor. Level 2 covers the 110 NIST SP 800-171 requirements, in a different order. The expensive mistake is assuming you are Level 1 when your contracts put you at Level 2.
Can you help with the Level 1 self-assessment?
Yes, and this is the widest door in the program. We walk it with you: what the 15 requirements mean on a shop floor, what evidence sits behind each one, and how the submission works. It runs as group training, so we can take a lot more firms here than in the deeper work.
We can’t sign it. That must come from a senior official inside your company, and it is a legal attestation with real consequences if it is wrong. Our job is to make sure the evidence holds up when your person signs.
Who is the deeper Level 2 work for?
Firms with the capacity to act on it: you already hold federal contracts or subcontracts, a prime or Tier 1 customer has flowed requirements down to you, or you are working toward a bid in the next twelve months. Two other things matter as much. Someone at your company has to own the work, and closing the gaps costs money the program does not cover.
Space for the deeper work is limited, so if defense compliance is your binding constraint, say so early. Not there yet? Start with Level 1. The rest of the program is still built for you.
Will this get us certified?
At Level 1, there is nothing to certify: you assess, you submit, your senior official affirms, and we help you do all three correctly. At Level 2, a third-party assessment comes from an accredited organization you contract yourself. We get you ready and tell you honestly whether you are.
Siemens digital manufacturing
What is the Digital Twin Lab?
A working Siemens engineering environment your people train on directly: NX, Tecnomatix Plant Simulation, Process Simulate, additive manufacturing, and a collaborative robot cell. Three sites across Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
Why would a shop our size need this?
Because primes are starting to require it. Buyers want digital engineering deliverables, and a firm that cannot produce them cannot submit a responsive bid, no matter how good its parts are. Building that in-house usually means buying the software, then finding someone to teach it. Our labs are how you skip both.
Do we have to buy the software?
No. You train on our licenses, in our labs, at no cost, and your people leave with the ability. Whether you bring the tools in-house later is your call, and Dr. Gray will give you a straight answer on whether it is worth it.
Courses run on a regular schedule at each site, from short introductions for a team to multi-day work for people who will use it daily. Tell us what you are trying to do, and we will point you to the right one.
Workforce training
What credentials can our people earn?
Ten industry-recognized, hands-on programs across production skills, process improvement, safety, and frontline leadership. The full list is above. One worth calling out: MT1 Trainer Certification lets you run Manufacturing Technician Level 1 in-house yourself, so you are not waiting for us to credential every new hire.
Separately, your people can train in our Siemens labs. Different skill set, not a credential: this is where a machinist or engineer picks up digital manufacturing capability your operation doesn’t have yet.
If you are growing, these work as onboarding. Manufacturing Technician Level 1 is built for someone new to a production floor, so a hire you make in March can be credentialed by summer.
Can training be built around our equipment?
Often, yes. We have trainers working in all three states, and they can build instruction on your machines and processes, so what your people learn is what they actually run. Tell us what you need, and we’ll see what we can build.
Our people cannot leave the floor for a week.
This is the most common thing we hear. Training runs in all three states rather than in one place; several of the shorter certificates are blended, and we can bring the trainer and equipment to your shop floor, which eliminates travel entirely. Tell Dr. Gray your constraint, and he will build around it.
Getting qualified as a supplier
What does a buyer actually ask for?
Registrations first: an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code, and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes that match what you actually make. Then a capability statement written for a buyer rather than as a brochure. Then quality documentation, and depending on the customer, a supplier questionnaire that runs anywhere from two pages to twenty.
We go through it with you one-on-one, against what a specific buyer is asking for rather than a generic checklist.
We have never done federal work. Where do we start?
Registration is more tedious than hard. Firms stall on the same three things: industry codes that do not match the work, a capability statement written for the wrong reader, and no quality documentation ready to hand over.
Use the “Start here” button and tell us where you are. We will tell you what is missing and work it in order. Nothing here assumes you have bid before.
Matchmaking
How does matchmaking actually work?
Two ways. Our team works relationships with primes and Tier 1 buyers directly, and when what you make lines up with what one of them is sourcing, we make the introduction. We do this one at a time and based on fit, not a mailing list.
We also schedule matchmaking sessions and supplier briefings across all three states, where manufacturers sit down with buyers for short, scheduled conversations. Either way, we prepare you first, so you walk in knowing what the buyer will ask and what your file looks like when they open it.
Which buyers will you introduce us to?
It depends on what you make. We make introductions only when there is a real fit, because putting the wrong shop in front of a buyer costs us the relationship and costs you the meeting.
Tell us what you make and who you are trying to reach, and we will tell you honestly whether we have a line into that space.
FAQs
Am I eligible?
What actually makes us eligible?
Two tests, and you have to pass both.
First, you must count as small for your industry. For manufacturers, that usually means 500 employees or fewer, and many manufacturing industries have higher limits.
Second, at least one of these has to be true:
- Your firm is in SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program
- Your firm is a certified HUBZone small business
- Your firm is a certified economically disadvantaged woman-owned small business
- Your plant, or the owner’s address, is in an area of high unemployment
- The owner’s household income falls under a federal low-income threshold
One is enough. The last two are the ones firms most often do not realize apply to them, and both are things we check rather than things you must prove.
Are we too big for this?
Almost certainly not. SBA counts most manufacturers with 500 employees or fewer as small businesses, and plenty of manufacturing industries are set higher than that, some as high as 1,500. Firms tell us all the time that they assumed they were too big to bother. Most of them were wrong.
Size is only half of it. You also must fit one of a short list of categories, and that is the part we work out for you.
Does our location matter?
Yes, and it is one of the more common ways in.
Put your plant’s street address into the SBA HUBZone map. It takes about 30 seconds, and many manufacturers are surprised by the answer. If it comes back inside a HUBZone, tell us, and tell us whether you are HUBZone certified, because certified and located are treated differently, and it changes what we can do with it.
There is a second location test, and you do not need to run it. It checks whether your county’s unemployment rate is high enough against national and state benchmarks. We check that one for you.
What if we are not in a HUBZone?
That does not rule you out. There is a short list of ways in, and location is only one of them.
The others are your county’s unemployment rate, participation in SBA’s 8(a) program, certification as an economically disadvantaged woman-owned small business, and whether the owner’s household income falls under a federal threshold. Those are things we check rather than things you have to work out.
A negative result on the map is not a no. Fill out the form and let us review it. We would rather tell you either way than have you decide it for yourself.
We are veteran-owned, woman-owned, or a small disadvantaged business. Does that count?
Veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned do not qualify a firm on their own, and neither does small disadvantaged business status. This program uses a short, specific list.
Woman-owned is different. If your firm is certified as an economically disadvantaged woman-owned small business, an EDWOSB, that is on the list, and it qualifies you directly. Woman-owned certification without the economically disadvantaged piece does not.
Firms holding any of these certifications often qualify another way anyway, usually on location or on the owner’s income. Fill in the form and let us check.
Should we be getting certified?
If you can, yes. HUBZone, 8(a), and EDWOSB open contracts that never reach the open market, and they are worth having whether or not you end up in this program.
We don’t process those applications. Your SBA District Office and your local APEX Accelerator do; they do it well, and usually at no charge. We’ll look at where you stand, tell you which one you’re closest to, and make the introduction.
Call us either way. We work with manufacturers across Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, and pointing you at the right door is worth a phone call whether or not Path to Prime turns out to be a fit.
Cost, paperwork, and what happens next
What does it cost?
Nothing for training, consulting, or assessments. Services are at no cost to firms determined eligible under the SBA Empower to Grow program, and participation is not conditioned on the purchase of any product or service.
Two things the program does not pay for, and we would rather say so up front. If a cybersecurity assessment finds gaps, you fund closing them. And if your contracts require a certified Level 2 assessment, you’ll need to hire an accredited third party directly.
Can you help us find cashflow to support the improvements we need to make?
You may request a complimentary SpendVue™ assessment, which provides a consolidated view of spending and helps identify and prioritize potential savings, leakage, and risk. ERA Group can help you:
- Test cost assumptions across materials, packaging, freight, MRO, utilities, and facility services.
- Review supplier arrangements for pricing, capacity, service levels, and concentration risk as demand grows.
- Identify operating savings that may create more room for investments in technology, compliance, and growth.
- Assess sourcing decisions using a fuller view of cost, including the practical economics of domestic alternatives.
How much paperwork is this?
Light at the front, a little at the back.
The “Start here” form is short: who you are, where the plant is, and how many people work there. If you decide to move forward after we talk, there is one SBA enrollment form covering basic business details, your industry code, headcount, and revenue, and we’ll fill it out with you on a call.
After that, the grant requires us to report results. We will ask you for a short set of numbers when you start and again later: revenue, headcount, bids submitted, contracts won. It is a conversation, not a form to chase, and it is how SBA measures whether this worked.
What happens after we fill in the form?
We call within one business day, confirm your eligibility, and talk through what your operation actually needs. Nothing is committed until you see a written plan.
On your information: SBA requires us to report who we trained. We send each participant’s name, business name, address, phone, and email to the SBA quarterly, along with the eligibility category you qualified under and the training they attended. We also report results at the firm level. We do not sell any of it, and we do not share it with any commercial entity.
Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.
The Path to Prime program is financed 100 percent with federal funds. The dollar amount of federal funds for this program is $4,847,026. Zero percent of the program, and $0, is financed by non-governmental sources.
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact Wes Smith, Project Director, communications@vamanufacturers.com, 804-655-2352.