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Acuerdo Para Demanda de Fuerza de Trabajo de Manufacturia: Gira del mejor programa de práctica por el consorcio de negocios y educación |
Meeting the Manufacturing Workforce Demand: Consortium of business and education tour best practice program PENSACOLA, Fla. – Last year, the Community Economic Development Association (CEDA), in conjunction with the University of West Florida Haas Center for Business Research & Economic Development, released a study on current and future employment trends for the community’s targeted industries. The labor market gap analysis, also known as a needs assessment, is a comparison of actual versus potential performance, which helps to determine what steps need to be taken in order to help a community reach a particular goal. The analysis engaged business and education together to identify existing and future employment demands and training needs of the greater Pensacola area’s targeted industries of advanced manufacturing and information technology. The study identified a need for 2,150 new and replacement workers in the advanced manufacturing industry in the next five years. In an effort to grow and support the community’s existing manufacturing cluster and attract new business investment, there are three key training programs that the analysis identified as priority for implementation: 1. Industrial Maintenance 2. Process Technology 3. Electrical and Instrumentation Technology As a result of the analysis, the CEDA has continued to foster and develop partnerships between businesses and education to explore implementation of recommendations in the analysis. Most recently, a consortium from Locklin Tech, Pensacola State College and manufacturing business partners took a tour of the three aforementioned programs that were identified as a “best practice” at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. The benchmarking trip allowed the opportunity to identify best practices in lab space, facilities, curriculum, experiential learning and hiring practices. “The greater Pensacola area is poised for growth in the advanced manufacturing sector and our partners in education have been at the forefront of working with business to develop training to meet their needs,” said Scott Luth, President and CEO of Community Economic Development Association (CEDA). Locklin Tech is in the process of implementing an Electrical and Instrumentation Technology program to begin in the fall of 2015. “The tour to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College reiterated that any successful program has strong business partnerships as the foundation,” said Maria Ladouceur, Principal of Locklin Tech. “It allowed us to finalize decisions on what equipment, curriculum and apprenticeship programs will be mutually beneficial for us and our business partners.” Pensacola State College is also exploring how a Process Technology program could complement their existing manufacturing training programs. “The mission of Pensacola State College is to meet the needs of business and industry,” said Dan Busse, Dean of Workforce Education at Pensacola State College. “We believe we already have the building blocks in place to implement a very successful, and highly sought after, Process Technology program.” To move our community forward, we need to meet the needs of business and industry and provide a viable career pathway for our citizens. The successful implementation of these training programs will provide a pathway to do so. |