Key Issues

Regional Convenings

What are they and why are they important to the Future of Work?

Regional convenings are ongoing region-based opportunities for network development and innovation to meet the demands of Industry 4.0.

Organized and facilitated by the project, regional convenings engage area community colleges, industry, and workforce development to facilitate discussions that will ensure community college curriculum meets industry training needs for the future.

Every region throughout the country is unique. Their populations, natural resources, history, and economies are inextricably tied to the dominate industries in their locations. An ongoing dialogue with regional stakeholders and educational institutions provide the channels needed to continually assess and reassess to identify the most important skills technicians will need in specific areas of industry. 

These insights into emerging skill needs and methodologies will provide educators with the necessary information needed to create content and implement courses to develop these skills in our future technicians.

 

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

November 7-8, 2019

Although traditionally associated with the textile and tobacco industries, Winston-Salem is transforming to be a leader in the nanotech, high-tech and bio-tech fields.

  • Advanced Manufacturing – Local companies draw from a regional workforce of over 800,000. They are supported by focused training at Forsyth Technical Community College and other higher education options at area colleges and universities.
  • Logistics/Distribution The region has one of the largest concentrations of trucking companies on the East Coast. FedEx Ground and UPS Ground both maintain regional sorting hubs in the area.
  • Healthcare/Life Sciences – Biotechnology
  • Financial Services
  • Data Centers

Download the Convening Agenda.

Work and results

In combined groups of educators and industry leaders, participants reviewed the knowledge and skills embedded within the cross-disciplinary STEM core (link) and determined whether training was commonly or sparsely available in the region.

Partners

Gulf Coast Region

On October 30, November 6, and November 13, 2020 the project and partners hosted a series of virtual meetings with representatives from various sectors of industry, educators and community college leadership, and workforce and economic development leadership.  Each of these three sessions focused on one of the following – Business Knowledge and Processes, Digital Literacy, and Data Knowledge and Analysis.

About the Gulf Coast Region

The 13-county Gulf Coast region covers about 13,900 square miles in eastern coastal Texas, stretching from Huntsville on the north to Matagorda Bay and Galveston along the Gulf Coast. The region’s economic center is the city of Houston in Harris County.

The Gulf Coast region is a leader in the oil and gas extraction, pipeline transportation, and space research and technology industries. The economy of the Gulf Coast area is dominated by industries related to energy, petrochemicals, fishing, aerospace, agriculture, and tourism.

For more information about the region:

https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/economic-data/regions/2020/gulf-coast.php

Partners

Wisconsin

Fall 2021

Partners

Friday, September 17, 2021

Arizona Sun Corridor Regional Convening

Friday, September 17, 2021

Friday, September 24, 2021

The Arizona Convening is partnered with the AZ Advanced Manufacturing Institute and the Maricopa Information Technology Institute based at the Maricopa Community Colleges. The region represents the Sun Corridor consisting of high tech industries in the Phoenix to Tucson area.

Industries: Aerospace & Defense, Renewable & Mining Technology, Bioscience & Healthcare and Transportation & Logistics.

For more information: https://www.suncorridorinc.com/demographics-workforce/

Partners