Advanced Technological Education Network for Utilities and Energy Technical Education

随着许多技术工人接近退休，合格的候选人越来越少，能源行业正面临着关键工程和技术技能工人短缺的问题。 据估计，这种短缺影响了全国70%以上的能源雇主。东北威斯康星州技术学院是一所两年制技术学院，提供中西部最广泛的实用相关副学士学位、技术文凭和证书。然而，填补劳动力管道将需要许多机构，组织，企业和其他利益相关者的协调努力。该项目旨在发展这样一个跨部门的网络，以发展合作和共享资源，以满足当前和预期的公用事业和能源行业的劳动力和培训需求。东北威斯康星州技术学院公用事业和能源计划的教师，在与行业协商，将确定和培养一个核心领导小组的国家和区域利益相关者来自行业，学术界，和劳动力发展，以建立一个正式的公用事业和能源协调网络。该网络将创建一个共同愿景，以指导其发展，并建立建立成员关系的结构和规范。这项工作将为执行天然气、电力和公用事业工程部门的公用事业技术人员培训战略奠定基础，以解决全国范围内的劳动力短缺问题。该项目将探讨加强行业和教育利益相关者之间合作的方法。 它还将研究如何在各区域和国家之间分享最佳做法和信息，以扩大影响，并在实现网络目标方面取得持续进展。这项研究将增加目前关于网络发展的知识体系，以及网络在解决复杂问题方面的相关性，例如高需求职业行业的工人短缺。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。

As many skilled workers approach retirement and fewer qualified candidates are available to replace them, the energy industry is suffering from shortages of workers with key engineering and technical skills. This shortage is estimated to affect more than 70 percent of energy employers across the nation. Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, a two-year technical college, offers one of the widest varieties of utility-related associate degrees, technical diplomas, and certificates in the Midwest. However, filling the workforce pipeline will require the coordinated efforts of many institutions, organizations, businesses, and other stakeholders. This project aims to develop such a cross-sector network to develop collaborations and share resources to address current and anticipated utility and energy industry workforce and training needs.Faculty in the Northeast Wisconsin Technical College utility and energy program, in consultation with industry, will identify and cultivate a core leadership group of national and regional stakeholders from industry, academia, and workforce development to create a formal utilities and energy coordination network. The network will create a shared vision to guide its evolution and establish the structure and norms for building member relationships. This work will lay the groundwork to execute strategies for utility technician training in gas, electrical power, and utilities engineering sectors to address nationwide workforce shortages. The project will look at methods to increase collaboration between industry and educational stakeholders. It will also examine how best practices and information can be shared across regions and the nation to broaden impact and create sustained progress towards achieving network goals. This research will add to the current body of knowledge about network development and the relevance of networks in addressing complex problems, like worker shortages across industries with high-demand occupations. 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.