Recruitment and Training Support for Diverse Populations in Mechanical and Architectural Manufacturing Technologies (RTS-MT)

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Nationally, manufacturers struggle to fill middle-skills jobs that require some level of technical training, applied skills, licensing, or certification. Through the year 2030, there are an estimated 2.1 million manufacturing jobs that will be unfilled, which could cost the U.S. economy up to $1 trillion. Even though women represent almost half of the national workforce, less than one third of manufacturing professionals are women. The goal of this project is to develop an educational pipeline that will prepare a diverse population of students qualified to fill middle-skill manufacturing jobs. This goal will be accomplished using sector partnerships and career pathways and expanding Pittsburgh Technical College’s (PTC) Mechanical Engineering Technologies (MET) program and improving PTC’s Architectural Engineering Technology (AET) program to meet the growing workforce demand. This project will build upon prior experience gained working on the Integrating Software and Machine-Lab Instruction (ISMI) project that has enhanced the ability of high schools to deliver MET education. PTC will address the national and regional need for filling middle-skill positions by implementing the following goals and objectives (1) increase the number of non-traditional (women), diverse, and military veteran students to both MET and AET; (2) modify the architectural curriculum to include more focus on design principles; (3) provide mentoring and instruction to high school students and faculty; (4) provide professional development training and equipment for PTC faculty; and (5) expand dual enrollment programs at secondary schools. The primary audiences affected by these activities will be secondary school students and teachers, two-year college students and instructors at PTC, and non-traditional and military veteran populations. Project evaluation will be based on the identification of formative outcomes through the application of project management techniques, and summative outcomes of project activities through the application of a logic model to identify the key evaluation questions, data sources and connections to the project’s broader impacts of building a strong manufacturing sector and strengthening the regional economy.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.