Advancing Education in Production Technology

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As advanced manufacturing supersedes traditional manufacturing, and domestic manufacturers deepen their investment in advanced technologies, the skill requirements for manufacturing jobs are rising, and the shortage of skilled workers to fill these jobs is at a crisis point. The emergence of manufacturing as a major industry in Alabama is creating numerous career opportunities for trained production managers and technicians; however, finding skilled and trained workers to fill open positions is a major barrier to innovation and growth for many companies. Because Alabama has been identified as a state with a significant worker shortage and a skilled production workforce is in short supply, manufacturers and other industry partners in Alabama are being challenged to collaborate with community colleges to develop curriculums that meet their needs. By building on the successes of existing program options at the college and proven solutions, this project at Jefferson State Community College will improve technician education and increase the number of highly skilled workers in regionally targeted manufacturing technology areas through the development of a new Manufacturing Systems Technology degree option. Manufacturers and industry partners will be involved so that the college can ensure that regional industries have the workforce that will allow them to succeed in a globally competitive environment. The project will leverage the work performed by the college as a partner in the Consortium for Alabama Regional Center for Automotive Manufacturing (CARCAM) as well as other ATE Centers of Excellence in manufacturing in Florida and South Carolina and the Production Associate Technology curriculum used at Spartanburg Community College in South Carolina. Specifically, the project will increase the number of skilled workers in technology areas unique to the production department of manufacturing companies rather than to the maintenance/engineering departments in these companies by development of the new degree and certificate option and through evaluation of their effectiveness. To accomplish this goal, the college will partner with industry members and other critical stakeholders in the development of a more highly skilled workforce in the Greater Birmingham Region as the college works with local industry to create this new program to support needs of manufacturing companies in emerging technologies. The curriculum will be validated by experts from these organizations in terms of its effectiveness in meeting learning goals. The new curriculum will allow for future extension for delivery via dual enrollment-dual credit programs to partner high schools and thereby will create new educational pathways and improve articulation between secondary schools and the college. Project personnel will investigate the incorporation of nationally recognized industry certifications such as the Certified Production Technician certification administered by the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council into the resulting curriculum. The project will be designed to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities, particularly women, in science, technology, and engineering (STEM) education. Project personnel will also work with Alabama Industrial Development Training, an industry leader in education for start-up companies, and the Alabama Technology Network, which addresses the ongoing education needs of companies in Alabama.