The Necessary Skills Now Network: Integrating Employability Skills Development into Technician Education Across STEM Disciplines

几十年来，高科技领域的雇主一直抱怨入门级员工往往缺乏“就业技能”，也就是所谓的“软技能”。" 这些技能是在工作场所取得成功所必需的非技术技能，包括团队合作，解决问题，口头沟通，书面沟通，可靠性/职业道德和规划/组织。报告呼吁大学重新设计课程和课程设置，以解决就业技能的不足，并为此启动了许多项目，这些项目往往侧重于某一特定学科。作为一个新的高级技术教育（ATE）协调网络，Necessary Skills Now Network将促进社区和技术学院教师与商业/行业合作伙伴的合作，将就业技能融入STEM学科的技术人员教育计划。Necessary Skills Now Network将协助社区和技术学院共享资源，探索新的教学方法，并与雇主合作，帮助学生提高对就业技能的掌握。该网络将（1）建立一个活跃的“实践社区”，以交流思想、有前途的做法、研究和就业趋势;（2）提供教师发展讲习班和课程，以支持采用有效的教学方法、教学材料和学习环境;以及（3）建立一个开放教育资源的在线门户网站，以提高技术副学士学位课程学生的就业技能。该项目由职业研究与发展中心和三个ATE中心领导：南卡罗来纳州先进技术教育中心（工程技术），系统安全和信息保障中心（网络安全）和佛罗里达先进技术教育中心（先进制造）。通过这些合作伙伴现有的广泛网络，调查人员预计将通过研讨会，在线课程和按需资源接触到450多名教职员工，并使300多所大学和75家公司参与社区实践活动。会议演讲、网络研讨会、出版物和社交媒体将进一步扩大STEM学科利益相关者对网络资源的认识。总体目标是创造一个环境，让许多雇主和教育工作者跨角色、跨技术部门和跨地域合作，构建解决方案，为学生提供就业后高效工作所需的全方位技能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

For several decades, employers in high-tech fields have complained that entry-level employees often lack "employability skills," which are also called "soft skills." These skills are the non-technical skills necessary for success in the workplace, including working in teams, problem solving, verbal communication, written communication, dependability/work ethic, and planning/organizing. Reports have called on colleges to redesign courses and curricula to address the deficiency in employability skills, and many projects have been launched to do so, often with a focus on a particular discipline. As a new Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Coordination Network, the Necessary Skills Now Network will foster the collaboration of community and technical college faculty with business/industry partners to integrate employability skills into technician education programs across the STEM disciplines.The Necessary Skills Now Network will assist community and technical colleges in sharing resources, exploring new teaching methods, and collaborating with employers to help students improve their mastery of employability skills. The Network will (1) create an active "community of practice" to exchange ideas, promising practices, research, and employment trends; (2) provide faculty development workshops and courses to support the adoption of effective teaching methods, instructional materials, and learning environments; and (3) create an online portal of open educational resources to improve the development of employability skills among students in technical associate degree programs. The project is led by the Center for Occupational Research and Development and three ATE centers: the South Carolina Advanced Technological Education center (engineering technology), the Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance (cybersecurity), and the Florida Advanced Technological Education center (advanced manufacturing). Through the existing, extensive networks of these partners, the investigators expect to reach over 450 faculty members with workshops, online courses, and on-demand resources and to engage over 300 colleges and 75 companies in community-of-practice activities. Conference presentations, webinars, publications, and social media will further extend awareness of the Network's resources to stakeholders across the STEM disciplines. The overall goal is to develop an environment in which many employers and educators collaborate across roles, technology sectors, and geography to build solutions that will give students the full range of skills needed for working productively after they are hired.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.