In today’s manufacturing climate, the need to engage young people and get them interested in manufacturing is at an all time high. With the current shortage of skilled workers and engineers to meet the current demands, we at SPC jumped at the opportunity to participate at Roboticon 2017 at the USF Sundome.

At this event, there were nearly 3,000 in attendance, with over 60 robotics teams comprised of groups of highly talented young people from around Florida and from all over the country. Here they would compete in FIRST Robotics competitions that would serve as practice for the upcoming 2018 Robotics season.

We had the opportunity to engage a large room of young people in a panel discussion, where we spoke to them about the numerous levels of education they can chose and how each could articulate to a career they could enjoy and grow in.

The natural curiosity and engagement from these students was overwhelming. With the diversity of our panel, we were able to show how each of us plays a part in the progression of their talent development.

We discussed how industry certifications, apprenticeship programs and college degrees work together; how each one is an important building block throughout the course of their careers; and  how continuous learning IS continuous improvement.

In the manufacturing industry, you learn something new every day. No matter how long you are in the industry, there is always a lesson to learn and skill to gain.

At the end of the panel discussion, these young people gained a deeper understanding of how industry certificates can correlate to being more competitive when they are ready to start applying for jobs, internships or apprenticeships in the field of manufacturing.

We have to stay focused on making sure our youth know all of the potential doors that can be opened as well as understand what their future employers are looking for.

We were very thankful for this opportunity and look forward to Roboticon 2018!

For more information about Roboticon, please visit https://roboticon.net/.

For more information on upcoming Engineering and Manufacturing courses, please visit the Workforce Institute’s home page.