National Science Foundation ••• Advanced Manufacturing •••

Advanced Manufacturing:
Establishing Foundations for Education and
Career Pathways from Middle School through College

A Project Funded by the National Science Foundation’s
Advanced Technological Education Program

Rationale

Manufacturing remains vital to Pennsylvania’s economy, accounting for 12% of employment and more than 20% of wages paid. Manufacturing Pennsylvania’s Future stated that: “Manufacturing remains an essential element of Pennsylvania’s economy, contributing $64B annually to the Gross State Product… by far the largest share of any sector.”
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Manufacturing Work Group reported that innovation and workforce investment were among the top seven most important challenges facing PA manufacturing.
The National Association of Manufacturers’ Skills Gap 2001 revealed that 80% of manufacturers face a shortage of qualified job candidates. The survey projected a shortage of 12 million skilled workers by 2020.
The National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing recommended outreach efforts at an earlier age: “Middle school students should be exposed to career pathways as a first step into career decision making…”.

Project Partners

Education Partners:
- Southwestern PA - middle and high schools that feed Steel Center Career/Technology High School, the Community College of Allegheny County, and California University of Pennsylvania.
- South-Central PA - middle and high schools that feed the Lancaster Career/Technology High School, the Harrisburg Area Community College, and Millersville University of Pennsylvania.
Industry - Government Partners:
- Advanced Manufacturing Career Collaborative
- Ben Franklin Technology Partners
- Catalyst Connection (southwestern PA)
- Hamill Manufacturing Company
- PA Department of Community and Economic Development
- PA Department of Labor and Industry
- PA Workforce Investment Board
- MANTEC (south-central PA)
- Susquehanna Valley Advanced Manufacturing Alliance
- TeamPA

Project Goals & Objectives

Overall Goal - address critical workforce shortages in Advanced Manufacturing Technology fields in Pennsylvania.

Goal 1 Increase the number of students, particularly under-represented students (female and minority), who study advanced manufacturing.
- Improve the image of manufacturing and promote manufacturing careers.
- Integrate the PA Academic Standards for Science & Technology and Career Education & Work.
- Provide hands-on experiential learning experiences for students in advanced manufacturing education.
- Establish mentoring networking opportunities for under-represented students (female and minority) in manufacturingeducation programs.
- Promote and market dual enrollment, advanced standing, and articulation agreements for manufacturing education.
Goal 2 Update advanced manufacturing education curriculum and instruction programs.
- Adopt and implement model advanced manufacturing curricula; middle school through university.
- Provide advanced manufacturing career experiencesfor students with real-world challenges and industry-based educationwork experiences.
Goal 3 Update teacher’s knowledge and skills in advanced manufacturing and provide critical instructional resources.
- Provide professional development for teachers to support manufacturing curricula.
- Provide instructional resources to support the curricula by securing funding from business/industry.