In this era of rapidly evolving technology and an ongoing manufacturing “skills gap” leaving hundreds of thousands of manufacturing positions open across the country, there’s one question that everyone involved with career and technical education (CTE) should be asking: am I teaching the advanced skills manufacturers so desperately need? Smart Manufacturing Training is More Important
If you’re one of the thousands upon thousands of people who call the career and technical education (CTE) world home, then you already know that 2026 could be a make-or-break year for CTE and industry alike. The ongoing challenge of the skills gap means that there are more open positions than ever that need highly
Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials, and now Generation Z…each of these generations has certain defining characteristics that broadly describe the people born into each specific time period. Which generation do you belong to? What stereotypes of your generation do you agree/disagree with? For example, Gen Z generally includes those people born between 1997 and 2009.
Manufacturing in the United States boasts a long history of innovation and success. Yet, over the last several decades, we’ve seen an increasing number of products produced overseas, as global competition heats up. There are many reasons for the trends we’ve noticed in manufacturing. As technology advances, other countries have been able to catch up
The manufacturing sector in the United States continues to face an ongoing labor shortage that shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Recent reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveal a consistent pattern of nearly a half-million open manufacturing positions every month. As if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, the current administration’s
How much attention do you pay to where the products you buy are manufactured? Do you care that your clothes and shoes were likely made in southeast Asia? Or your smartphone? That was probably made in Asia, too. Many people have never given much thought to where things are manufactured. The supply chain disruptions caused
Have you noticed there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world these days? Are the worldwide tariffs on again or off again? Does the federal Department of Education still exist? If so, in what form and with what capacity does it operate? The answers to these questions drive the decisions being made by educational institutions
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the pace of technological change? For many adults, especially the older generations, it sometimes seems like there are several new technologies taking the world by storm for every one they’ve finally had time to master. Take artificial intelligence, for example. Does anyone else feel like AI was something that
Career and technical education (CTE) programs exist in nearly every high school in the United States. Despite their almost universal presence throughout the American secondary educational system, however, you’d be hard pressed to find two programs that are the same. Some programs focus on teaching basic technical skills that can be used in a wide
“Made in the USA” – it’s a label that many take great pride in. There are millions of people who make buying decisions every day based upon where goods are manufactured. They support American-made products because they want to support American businesses. This isn’t always easy, because for certain categories of products, such as electronics,
Have you sensed the transition that appears to be taking place across the country regarding how people view industrial jobs? For years, the path to life and career success has been firmly routed through four-year colleges. Recently, however, many have started to realize that a college degree is not only costly, but also not a
How do you effectively prepare high school students for the manufacturing jobs of today and tomorrow? If you’re Chardon High School career and technical education (CTE) instructors Tracey Britt and Kim Butala, you partner with Amatrol and Buckeye Educational Systems to create what Taneisha Cordell from ABC News 5 Cleveland calls “a technology playground.” According
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