As much as we all would like to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, recovery is a process in which there are no quick fixes. The effects of the pandemic are still lingering in our society and are apparent in everyday life. Perhaps the most noticeable and pressing area still struggling to recover is the
Major federal legislation coupled with recent industrial trends point to the potential for a resurgence of growth in the United States’ manufacturing sector. In particular, this growth centers on those embracing smart technology, or what has become known as Industry 4.0. The decade leading up to the COVID-19 crisis (2010-2019) saw 1.3 million manufacturing jobs
Since the industrial revolution began manufacturing has been the driving force behind the success of developed nations. Unfortunately for the past century the development of industry came at the expense of the environment. Air, soil, and water pollution became synonymous with the output of large factories, who seemed more concerned with the bottom dollar than
Companies in Texas’s upper panhandle are in dire need to fill a skills-gap and train employees in various disciplines, especially process technologies and instrumentation due to the strong presence of refineries. A local institution, Frank Phillips College of Borger, Texas, applied for and received a JET grant to purchase equipment for their Career and Technical Education Program,
Why are there still so many open manufacturing positions in every industry across the U.S.? In a nutshell, the answer for year after year now has been the same: the skills gap. The supply of highly-skilled workers simply isn’t great enough to meet the continuously growing demand for workers with advanced technical skills. The skills
If today’s manufacturing sector had a mantra, it would probably be something along the lines of: work smarter, not harder. Given the struggles all industries currently face with finding skilled workers, it’s more critical than ever to improve efficiency and productivity wherever possible. It’s no coincidence that you see the word “smart” being attached to
Studies reveal that nearly half of organizations using an LMS are unhappy with their service. With a plethora of vendors on the market, offering unique feature sets and pricing models; customers often make decisions based on the wrong metrics. Whether you’re looking for your first LMS solution, or searching to replace an existing one, there’s
What’s hotter than the temperatures currently scorching most of the United States? Quite appropriately, careers in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) are hotter than ever. With heat wave after heat wave and temperatures setting new records year after year, the demand for qualified HVACR installers and technicians is greater than ever. Unfortunately, supply
Today’s educators are faced with mountains of obstacles. Among them, one obstacle is an increasingly troublesome roadblock for the education system: the equity gap. Most are familiar with terms like wage gap, and skills gap, however the term equity gap is still relatively unknown. Equity gaps refer to disparities in the success of education
Can you find a student today who doesn’t like technology? Modern technology shapes and, in many ways, defines our lives on a daily basis. It’s only natural that it would also have a profound impact on how students choose a future career path. Recent data shows that postsecondary enrollment is down overall, but luckily interest
Decades ago, the thought of renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, supplying a substantial portion of power needs felt like the stuff of science fiction. After all, supplies of traditional fuel sources, such as petroleum and coal, seemed inexhaustible. Fast forward to today and it’s remarkable how the modern power generation landscape has changed.
What do you remember about 2020? For most people, “COVID-19” and “pandemic” are words forever etched in their memories of that year. When the ball dropped in Times Square, pushing us all into 2021, we had high hopes that the worst was behind us. Of course, things didn’t really go as we had hoped, though.
