Study recognizes need to improve high-tech workforce education
Recognizing a changing workforce and significant opportunity in the high technology manufacturing industry, the Maricopa County Community Colleges District (MCCCD), in conjunction with SRP, took a proactive approach to establishing the needs, opportunities, and current workforce environment in the Greater Phoenix Area in regards to high technology manufacturing.
The result was an 11-month study conducted by Battelle Memorial Institute titled, "Competing with Talent: High Technology Manufacturing's Future in Greater Phoenix."
The study, released in January 2006, focused on five high-tech sectors:
- Semiconductors and computer hardware
- Aerospace and defense
- Electronics and instruments
- Advanced materials
- Information and telecommunications services
Information was gathered through Internet-based surveys, on-site interviews and focus groups. Two key findings were:
- There is a widening gap between skills needed and those actually possessed by workers; and
- The role of the technician is changing. Technology is advancing, but how academic institutions view and educate technicians has not changed.
As a result of the findings, MCCCD was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant totaling $899,972 over a three-year period.
Maricopa Community Colleges' response to the study has been prompt and thorough. View the Colleges' strategies and actions.
The full study, along with an executive summary briefing, can be found at www.maricopa.edu/workforce/hightech.php.
For more information about the high tech study or the NSF grant, visit www.maricopa.edu/workforce or call Rick Hansen, MCC Center for Workforce Development Associate Director, at (480) 731-8204.