Subcommittee Examines Role of Community Colleges in 21st Century Competitiveness
(Washington, DC) – In efforts to fill the ranks of skilled technicians and industry workers in the advanced manufacturing industry, Members of the Science & Technology Committee’s Subcommittee on Research and Science Education examined the role of community colleges in recruiting and training those workers.
The manufacturing sector is responsible for 14 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, and 11 percent of its employment. For the U.S. to remain competitive in this still significant sector of the economy, skilled workers must continue to be available.
“For years, community colleges and career and technical education programs have provided industries with the skilled workers it needs to help our economy thrive,” said Subcommittee Chairman Brian Baird (D-WA), who is also co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus. “However, community colleges are facing challenges despite growing awareness that they can provide industry with the skilled workers it needs.”
A 2004 Department of Commerce Report, Manufacturing in America: a Comprehensive Strategy to Address the Challenges to U.S. Manufacturers, cited a lack of adequately skilled workers for production jobs as an important issue that needs to be addressed to ensure the competitiveness of American manufacturing.
As technology drives American factory production, advanced manufacturing becomes more widely used, making extensive use of computers, high-precision and information technologies—and pushing the need for a high-performance workforce.
While community and technical college programs can produce the kind of graduates industry needs to fill these positions, they currently face challenges.
Witnesses at today’s hearing addressed their experiences with those challenges, which can include:
-
Low enrollment;
-
Tight operating budgets;
-
Little public knowledge about careers in manufacturing or the careers are considered undesirable;
-
Inadequate math and science backgrounds of students enrolled in community colleges.
“Most industries are now on a constant path of technology renewal in attempts to gain competitiveness by increasing productivity, reducing costs, speeding product development cycles, customization of products to customer specifications, or some combination of these efforts,” said one of today’s witnesses, Dr. Gerald Pumphrey, President of South Puget Sound Community College. “In the face of this accelerating evolution in technology, colleges face increasing difficulty in keeping curriculum current, helping faculty keep their skills up-to-date, and in keeping instructional equipment and software parallel with industry practice.”
“As communities across the country, including in my home-state, report difficulties filling jobs with skilled workers, we must ensure that community colleges have the resources they need to provide the education and training their students deserve,” said Baird. “During today’s hearing we discussed innovative strategies to meet the needs of both community colleges and industries looking for qualified employees.”
Other witnesses at today’s hearing included, Dr. Stephen Fonash, Director, Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization, Pennsylvania State University; Mr. Eric Mittelstadt, CEO, National Advisory Council for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM); and Ms. Monica Poindexter, Associate Director of Corporate Diversity,, Genentech, Inc.
###
110.110
Related Subcommittees
Next Article Previous Article