National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing

Recent studies have highlighted the nation's increasing need for a skilled workforce in advanced manufacturing. For example, a 2018 study by Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute concluded that over the next decade, the U.S. will need to fill more than 4.6 million manufacturing jobs. The study further predicts that more than half of these jobs will go unfilled due to gaps in the skills of potential workers.

With this award, Tunxis Community College will work with partners from industry, business associations, professional organizations, government agencies, and educators to develop the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing, which will help the nation meet its advanced manufacturing workforce needs. The Center will be organized according to Industry 4.0 and will include Technology Teams for next generation manufacturing sub-sectors, such as Design, Fabrication, Processing, Supply Chain, Logistics, and Quality Control.

In addition, the Center will include next generation manufacturing applications, such as cybersecurity, biomanufacturing, and resource-efficient manufacturing. The Center will be guided by national leaders from other Advanced Technological Education Centers and projects, as well as by national equity associations, such as the National Association for Partnerships in Equity.

Through this guidance, the Center aims to identify successful strategies for recruiting and retaining people from underrepresented communities in the next generation manufacturing workforce.

The National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing has four goals: 1) Enhance and solidify relationships and communication among educators, businesses, industry, government, military, trade associations, and economic development agencies to broaden and strengthen efforts to prepare qualified advanced manufacturing technicians; 2) Implement a repository of educational materials that integrates industry-driven competencies needed to support Industry 4.0 and emerging learning technologies including the use of Open Educational Resources and online methodologies; 3) Support professional development opportunities for educators to implement promising practices to address current and future next generation manufacturing technology competencies; and 4) Support a diverse technician workforce through regional outreach, recruitment, mentoring, and dissemination initiatives. Detailed activities are planned to support each goal, including: professional development of educators to ensure that the developed resources are used effectively; mentoring to support education and industry partnerships such as the nationally recognized Business & Industry Leadership Team model; initiating projects with Manufacturing Extension Partnerships and Manufacturing USA Institutes; pursuing and piloting apprenticeship models by the Center’s educators; strengthening career pathways between high schools, community colleges, four-year universities and industry by identification of industry-recognized credentials and disseminating successful educational models that include multiple entry and exit points for both certificate and degree completion; exploring and sharing emerging trends such as the Future of Work to guide educators as they design industry-driven curriculum; and addressing the impact of automation, the Internet of Things, and cybersecurity in next generation manufacturing through webinars, podcasts and professional development workshops.

Center activities are expected to create a national Community of Practice that is agile, supports innovation, and educates the 21st century advanced manufacturing workforce needed for companies to be globally competitive. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation’s economy.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.