This year’s event welcomed first-time faculty participants from Eastern Florida State College, St. Petersburg College, and the College of the Florida Keys, further expanding the ET community of practice across the state.
For decades, the ET Forum has served as a vital platform for connecting Florida’s diverse, geographically distributed engineering technology community around shared challenges and priorities. With support from the Florida Department of Education, FLATE collaborates with the ET Forum network to strengthen the consortium, share statewide initiatives, support professional development, foster industry–academia collaboration, and engage in curriculum framework review and reform. Over time, the Forum has evolved into a true statewide community of practice.
Special thanks to Daytona State College for hosting the Spring ET Forum and to the participating educational vendors for their continued support and sponsorship.
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Mark
your calendar for the Fall 2026 ET Forum
September
10-11, 2026 at Palm Beach State College
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Engineering Technology Forum Shapes Next-Gen
Manufacturing Curriculum in Florida
Update on Advanced Manufacturing Specialization
Transition
As reported at the ET Forum at Daytona State College by Robert (Bob) Blevins, Florida Department of Education (FDOE) Assistant Director, and Sam Ajlani, Associate Professor and Program Manager for Engineering Technology at the College of Central Florida, the Advanced Manufacturing Specialization, along with its four College Credit Certificates (CCCs), will not be removed in 2026–27 in favor of the new Automation and Manufacturing Specialization due to the current lack of approved CCCs supporting the new pathway.
The new specialization will move forward once its CCCs are developed and approved by FDOE, at which point the existing Advanced Manufacturing Specialization and CCCs will be phased out. Development of the new CCCs will be led by ET Forum subcommittees, with work beginning in the fall, continuing through spring, and targeted for completion by Spring 2027.
The ET Forum plays a key role in addressing Florida’s Technician Industry 4.0 skills gap by bringing together industry and education partners to ensure programs align with evolving workforce needs in automation and advanced manufacturing.
Strengthening Alignment in Manufacturing Education
Pathways
The Florida Department of Education is exploring new AS
degree structures that align more clearly with the Standard Occupational
Classification and Classification of Instructional Programs codes. While some
CCCs were updated in recent years to reflect federal CIP changes, current
efforts aim to strengthen alignment for improved workforce tracking further.
This work may lead to the development of new AS degree
programs that better connect education pathways with industry needs and
reporting standards.
