Department of Defense Developing a National Model for Manufacturing Technician Education: Reviews FLATE for Best Practices

Massachusetts’ Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC) was recently awarded a $3.2 million grant (MassBridge) from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Manufacturing Technology Program (DoD ManTech) to develop and test a manufacturing technician training program and career pathway model for manufacturing technicians. The MassBridge program will boost training opportunities for technicians to better meet the workforce needs of employers. 

The program’s key deliverable is an integrated, statewide program that will provide a stackable set of programs to create connections from existing technician training programs to the skillsets that meet the demands of Massachusetts’s manufacturing sector. The program will work with existing vocational programs, high schools, community colleges, and supporting universities, to connect and engage students to encourage them toward careers in Manufacturing USA technologies.
 
After months researching successful technician education models and career pathways, MassBridge reached out to existing programs to learn more. FLATE, the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center, part of the FloridaMakes Network was one of three invited to share their success stories, answer questions, and offer advice to Massachusetts Community Colleges involved in the MassBridge project. “FLATE’s success in building a strong community of practice among the twenty-three Florida State and Community College programs that support manufacturing is often showcased as a best practice model for discipline focused technical education. It’s important to keep the community of educators and industry communicating regularly about skills and knowledge needed today as well as new skills (especially Industry 4.0 technologies) that will be needed in the near future.”, says Dr. Marilyn Barger, Executive Director of FLATE. Dr. Barger began this effort over fifteen years ago with grant funding from the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE) program to create a Regional Center to support manufacturing technician education in Florida. Today, the FLATE Center with its network of colleges is an integral part of FloridaMakes, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Center in Florida (www.FloridaMakes.com) with support from the Florida Department of Education and NSF ATE projects. Dr. Barger regularly mentors manufacturing programs, faculty and colleges in Florida and around the country.
 
To view the FLATE presentation to the MassBridge team, click here.

For more information about FLATE, Florida’s Engineering Technology degree and College network, visit the website here or contact Dr. Barger.




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