FLATE’s
Industrial Advisory Committee (IAC) has served as a vehicle in incorporating voices
of industry
and education to streamline its curriculum, outreach and professional
development efforts. The IAC consists of industry partners from the
manufacturing community, representatives from related professional and industry
organizations, and others in the community interested in advancing technician
education and training of the manufacturing workforce in Florida. Tina
Brudnicki, current Chair of the IAC and a member since 2005 says the role of
the IAC is “to promote and support the education and training of the current
and future manufacturing workforce.” Brudnicki views the IAC as a strategic
partner with local industry to lay a strong foundation for a qualified
workforce in Florida.
Meetings
are held two/three times a year at state/community colleges, or at a local
manufacturing facility which helps area manufacturers showcase some of their
high-tech operations, and make it accessible for members across Florida to
attend either in person, or remotely. The Committee works largely under the
guidance of Brad Jenkins, program director for the engineering technology
program at St. Petersburg College and one of FLATE’s principal investigators.
Most
IAC meetings serve as a dynamic marketplace to exchange ideas between industry
leaders and educators. Discussions center on technology and workforce trends
for technicians, industry certifications, updates from regional manufacturers
associations and/or industry partners, or any topic considered relevant to
manufacturers across Florida. For members like Dale Toney and Tina Brudnicki the
IAC meeting represents a confluence of ideas between educators and local
industry.
From
his participation at the recent meeting, Toney notes a need for a game changer
in terms of how
companies conduct daily business and devise a plan to reach out
to the emerging talent pool. Toney, who has been a member for the past three
years and an instructor at the Robotics & Automation Design Academy which
is affiliated with Marion Technical Institute in Ocala, FL., says “creating awareness
and cultivating interest from the get-go is key.” He makes an interesting point
in noting that traditional communication tools like newspapers, journal
articles, or television are less effective in reaching out to teenagers. Most
teenagers he says get their staple diet of news via word-of-mouth from
teachers, career counselors, and more recently via social networking. These
coupled with a younger, a fresher voice he says will connect better and attract
younger students to manufacturing.
Voices
of educators and industry leaders like Toney and Tina play an important role in
dictating IAC meeting agendas and maneuvering FLATE’s curriculum projects. Both
Toney and Brudnicki appreciate FLATE’s efforts to ensure representation of
educators and industry at these meetings. Then too, equally, if not more
important, they say is the need to incorporate
the voices of local legislators, vocational directors, principals and
superintendents who in essence function as decision makers and financial
planners in the educational continuum.
For
future meeting discussions, Toney hopes to see a defined/structured list of
skills that educators need to
be concentrating on so they can streamline curriculum
and instruction at the high school level. He also encourages industries to come
to the classroom and talk to students about certifications and skills set they
are looking for in current/future employees which in turn would help students
align their educational goals to match industry needs. Tina, on the other hand,
hopes the statewide A.S. degree in engineering technology, which represents the
culmination of a joint effort between FLATE and the IAC, will eventually serve
as an incentive for industry to find qualified workforce and relocate to
Florida.
For
more information on FLATE IAC visit www.fl-ate.org,
or contact Dr. Marilyn Barger at barger@fl-ate.org.
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