Conference to Explore the Impact of Future of Work Issues on Technician Education in Florida

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This project will convene manufacturers and community colleges within the state of Florida to address critical Future of Work issues and the expected skills gap for the skilled technical workforce. Two questions will be addressed at the conference: What new technologies are expected to impact technicians? And, what do colleges in Florida need to do to begin to address these Future of Work issues? The outcomes of the conference will demonstrate a model that can be implemented nationally to systemically strengthen connections between the Advanced Technology Education community, with its focus on technician education excellence, and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, with its focus on manufacturing excellence for small- and medium-sized manufacturers. The project will also place manufacturers and community college technician education programs in a stronger position to build the partnerships needed to respond to expected Future of Work impacts on the advanced technological workforce.This project will: provide participants with a pre-conference list of the Florida Department of Education Standards and Benchmarks that address advanced manufacturing skills; inform participants of the Digital Factory Floor assessment results from Manufacturing times Digital (MxD) Manufacturing USA Institute; conduct the conference to identify technologies in Florida’s small- to medium-sized manufacturers that directly contribute technician skills gaps in Florida; deliver a report of conference findings to all stakeholders; and administer, analyze and disseminate a post-conference Impact on Participants survey. The Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Florida Makes, the Florida Engineering Technology Forum (supported by the Florida Advanced Technology Center), and the Florida Department of Education will work together to implement project recommendations. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.