NAE Workshop on the Adaptability of the U.S. Engineering and Technical Workforce

Thursday, Nov 02, 2017

07:00 PM To 09:00 PM
Dinner and Keynote speaker

Friday, Nov 03, 2017

08:30 AM To 08:45 AM
Welcome and Introduction
08:45 AM To 10:15 AM
Panel #1 Case for change: Why adaptability matters
10:30 AM To 12:00 PM
Panel #2 What does adaptability look like
12:30 PM To 01:15 PM
Session: Analytics/measurement (what are analytics and how are they used to make decisions on adaptability
01:15 PM To 02:45 PM
Session: Company and higher education activities - training and organizational change
03:00 PM To 04:30 PM
Session: How K-12 education and out-of-school learning opportunities can help foster adaptability
04:30 PM To 04:55 PM
Plenary Session: Opportunities and next steps
04:55 PM To 05:00 PM
Wrap up and concluding thoughts

Adaptability of the US Engineering and Technical Workforce

Late last year, the National Academy of Engineering convened a workshop on Preparing the Engineering and Technical Workforce for Adaptability and Resilience to Change. The workshop springs from the earlier NAE report Making Value for America which described the ongoing transformation in the way ...

On November 2 and 3 2017, over 80 experts gathered in Washington DC for a workshop on Preparing the Engineering and Technical Workforce for Adaptability and Resilience to Change. This National Academy of Engineering workshop examined a number of aspects of workforce adaptability and resilience, including individual, organizational, and educational factors.

The workshop springs from the earlier NAE report Making Value for America: Embracing the Future of Manufacturing, Technology, and Work. That report described how globalization, developments in technology, and new business models are transforming the way products and services are conceived, designed, made, and distributed. According to some estimates, half of all jobs in the United States may be ripe for disruption. Even if a job is not eliminated due to these shifts, many activities that constitute that job may be transformed. In addition, the skill base of the existing engineering and technical workforce will be dramatically changed due to this rapid transformation. Workers will be faced with the need to constantly renew and learn new skills as jobs and work activities change.

The workshop focused on the challenges facing the workforce in light of these dramatic changes in the production process. The workshop served to increase understanding and awareness of the importance of workforce adaptability to key stakeholders, including increasing understanding of the definition and characteristics of adaptability. It also provided an opportunity to share known best practices for fostering adaptability, including identification of barriers and multiple pathways for overcoming those barriers. As important, it helped to identify needs for future study and development.

A workshop Proceeding, summarizing the discussions was published in July 2018.

If you have any questions about the project, please contact the Project Director, Dr. Ken Jarboe at kjarboe@nae.edu.

NAE Workshop on the Adaptability of the U.S. Engineering and Technical Workforce – Agenda and Videos