Strengthening Technical Apprenticeships through Regional Coordination

学徒制是培养训练有素的技术人员以满足当地劳动力需求的最有效工具之一，但有些项目与特定公司的需求或教育提供者的产品联系过于紧密。该项目旨在通过召集商业和行业领导团队扩大学徒机会，将成功的机电一体化学徒转变为区域增长引擎，将社区大学和企业合作伙伴纳入四个县的地区。它将产生一个标准化的、清晰的机电一体化课程，允许学徒在他们的家乡进入项目，在机构之间转换学分，并接受与课堂教学密切相关的在职培训。随着制造技术的不断进步，这将成为动态变化的技术学徒计划的典范，以满足整个地区的需求。具体来说，四所当地社区学院仍在共同努力，采用商业和行业领导团队推荐的知识、技能和能力，创建一个基础机电一体化项目，作为学徒项目技术指导的基础，包括标准化一套核心实验室设备。巡回培训师将利用德国双元制技术教育系统的详细技术课程，将在职培训与课堂教学结合起来，一名协调员将在学徒在参与的社区学院之间流动时，协调他们的进步。参与的社区学院将举办一系列STEM夏令营，以吸引对先进制造业感兴趣的学生，以满足该地区学徒计划日益增长的需求。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。

Apprenticeships are one of the most effective tools for producing trained technicians to meet the needs of the local workforce, but some programs are too closely tied to the needs of a specific company or offerings of an education provider. This project aims to transform a successful mechatronics apprenticeship into a regional engine for growth by convening a Business and Industry Leadership Team to expand the apprenticeship opportunity to encompass community colleges and corporate partners in a four-county area. It will result in a standardized, articulable mechatronics curriculum that will allow apprentices to enter the program in their home county, transfer credits between institutions, and receive on-the-job training that is closely tied to classroom instruction. This will serve as a model for dynamically changing technical apprenticeship programs that serve the needs of an entire region as manufacturing technologies continue to advance.Specifically, four local community colleges sill work together to adopt the knowledge, skills, and abilities recommended by the business and industry leadership team to create a foundational mechatronics program that serves as the basis of the technical instruction of the apprenticeship program, including standardizing a core set of lab equipment. Roving trainers will align the on-the-job training with classroom instruction using detailed technical lessons adapted from the German dual system of technical education, and a coordinator will align the progress of apprentices as they move between participating community colleges. Participating community colleges will host a series of STEM summer camps to attract a continuous pipeline of students interested in advanced manufacturing to meet the increased demand of this regional apprenticeship program. 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.