Rural Electronics Education Hub Pilot in the Upper Mississippi River Basin

美国先进制造和工程技术部门继续面临劳动力技能差距扩大和STEM劳动力管道下降的问题。预计到2028年，这些行业的空缺职位将达到240万个。在明尼苏达州和密西西比河上游流域，劳动力调查发现，到2026年，需要超过1000个电子技术职位。随着企业向机电设备过渡，并应用自动化和智能制造，对工人的技能要求发生了变化，造成了候选人和在职工人的技能不足。农村企业在建立熟练劳动力方面面临着额外的挑战，包括在吸引女性、服务不足/代表性不足的人口或美洲原住民加入其劳动力方面缺乏成功。最近一场病毒大流行的影响也突出表明，需要解决混合教学和远程教学的问题，以便为这些未来的工作者提供服务。该项目将通过双学分的电子入门证书来支持该地区对电子技术人员的需求，该证书允许学生同时获得高中学分和大学学分。该证书将通过提供符合副学士学位课程要求的课程，支持高中生、大学生和成年工人进入电子途径。该项目的总体目标是扩大熟练技术人员进入电子技术职业的管道。为此，该项目将创建一个可复制的证书项目，弥合K-12学校、高等教育大专院校和制造业之间的差距。该项目将支持：1)通过双注册电子入门证书和应用科学副学士课程的明确路径，为工人提供持续的管道；2)具有模拟、混合交付和便携式实验室模块的中介和远程学习材料；3)文化变革模型（Culture Change Model），利用多个区域影响者为教育工作者、行业、供应商和同行学术院校提供支持和行动研究；4)教师专业发展培训技术和制造业需求；5)针对女性、服务不足/代表性不足和美国原住民群体的多元化推广策略；与四年制院校建立合作关系，进一步发展电子领域的职业道路。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Technology sectors in the United States continue to face a widening workforce skills gap and declining STEM workforce pipelines. Up to 2.4 million unfilled jobs in these sectors are predicted by 2028. In Minnesota and the upper Mississippi River Basin, workforce surveys identified the need for more than 1,000 electronics technology positions by 2026. As businesses transition to electromechanical equipment, and apply automation and smart manufacturing, skillset requirements for workers shift, creating a skills deficiency in candidate and incumbent workers. Rural businesses have additional challenges in building a skilled workforce, including a lack of success at attracting females, underserved/underrepresented populations, or Native Americans into their workforce. The recent impact of a viral pandemic has also highlighted a need to address blended and distance instructional delivery to reach these workers of tomorrow. This project will support the regional need for electronics technicians through a dual-credit Introduction to Electronics Certificate that allows students to obtain high school credit and college credit simultaneously. The Certificate will support entry of high school students, college students, and adult workers into electronics pathways by providing courses that meet requirements of associate degree programs. The overarching goal of the project is to expand the pipeline of skilled technicians into electronics technology careers. To do so, this project will create a replicable certificate program that bridges the gaps between K-12 schools, post-secondary institutions of higher education, and the manufacturing sector. The project will support: 1) a sustained pipeline of workers through a dual enrollment Introduction to Electronics Certificate with articulated paths to Associate of Applied Science programs; 2) mediated and distance learning materials with simulation, blended delivery, and portable lab modules; 3) a Culture Change Model, drawing on multiple regional influencers for support and action research by educators, industry, vendors, and peer academic colleges; 4) faculty professional development on training technologies and manufacturing industry needs; 5) a diversity outreach strategy for females, underserved/underrepresented and Native American populations into electronics; and 6) collaborative relationships with four-year institutions to further develop career pathways in electronics. 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.