Opportunity youth (OY; i.e., youth ages 16--24 who are neither working nor in school) are a population who is difficult to engage and retain in educational programs, particularly in community college career and technical education (CTE) programs. OY are an important population to community colleges, as CTE programs culminating in…

Purdue University--Mechanical, Engineering, and Technology (MET) faculty and Purdue Technical Assistance Program (TAP) staff partnered with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) to create a new workforce training program and certificate exam in the field of green manufacturing. This article describes how the body of knowledge for the…

A computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) technician program was developed to provide training and technical assistance to meet the needs of business and industry in the face of the demands of high technology. The Computer and Automated Systems Association (CASA) of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers provided the incentive and guidelines…

These four reports provide details of projects to design and implement courses to be offered as requirements for the associate degree program in composites and reinforced plastics technology. The reports describe project activities that led to development of curricula for four courses: composite materials, composite materials fabrication I,…

With the increased use of plastics worldwide the shortage of trained personnel in moldmaking and design for plastic injection molds is becoming critical. Local schools and community colleges should provide courses in mold design and mold making, since most workers presently learn while working under experienced designers on the job. Following this…

This program guide documents a manufacturing job family curriculum that develops competence in generic work force education skills through three courses: Reading Rulers, Charts, and Gauges and Math for Manufacturing Workers I and II. An annotated table of contents lists a brief description of the questions answered in each section. An introduction…

This volume developed by the Machine Tool Advanced Skill Technology (MAST) program contains key administrative documents and provides additional sources for machine tool and precision manufacturing information and important points of contact in the industry. The document contains the following sections: a foreword; grant award letter; timeline for…

In order to help postsecondary technical colleges to keep abreast of changing technology, a study was conducted (1) to investigate the current and future status of three high technology areas in terms of their impacts on occupations, labor demand, and training requirements; and (2) to provide guidelines to help colleges change their programs to…

This document presents and discusses the national skill standards for advanced high-performance manufacturing that were developed during a project that was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education. The introduction explains the need for national skill standards. Discussed in the next three sections are the following: benefits of national…