Address Industry Identified Industry 4.0 Technologies-Related Skills Need for Manufacturing Technicians
(NSF ATE #2148138)
This project directly impacts the reality that Industry 4.0 skill deficiencies exist within Florida’s manufacturing technician workforce. The previous project, DUE 1939173 (2019-2022), Technician Future of Work Issues Caucus for Florida Community Colleges and Manufacturers, identified Florida- specific technician workforce skills deficiencies and a statewide collection of Florida manufacturers. This project confronts the skills deficiency issue with the creation of a model for cooperative interactions on Industry 4.0 identified skill needs between Florida industry, state colleges, FloridaMakes, and the Department of Education. This project was a partnership of FloridaMakes, FLATE, the College of Central Florida, Daytona State College, Polk State College, and St. Petersburg College.
Curriculum Updates:
The grant team developed and disseminated a data management survey based on the first Caucus grant to all colleges with related ET programs, presented the survey results at the Fall 2022 ET Forum, and from the results, began to develop a new certificate based on the current Automation CCC. After reviewing, it was determined that in lieu of a new certificate, the existing Advanced Manufacturing specialization would be updated to include the additional skills. The new Automation and Manufacturing specialization will be implemented in the 2026-27 academic year. Related College Credit Certificates (CCCs) will also be modified, as needed. Colleges will teach out/graduate any existing enrollments in the Advanced Manufacturing specialization and related CCCs.
Professional Development:
Professional Development to up-skill Engineering Technology Degree faculty related to manufacturer identified Industry 4.0 technician skills need:
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Cybersecurity for Manufacturing Technicians Parts I-IV – Webinar Series
- Robots for AI and Industry 4.0 Training Demo Webinar, March 24, 2023
- Cybersecurity Across Disciplines, College of Central Florida, January 5-6, 2023
- Mechatronics 101 Educators Workshop, Hillsborough Community College, March 9 2023
- FANUC Aligning Skills Between Industry & Education Workshop, April 20, 2023
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Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) Workshops – Cohort of educators completed beginner, intermediate and advanced PLC training from August 2023 to December 2024 taught by Sam Ajlani, College of Central Florida.
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- Overview of AI in Manufacturing Webinar, April 18, 2024
- Edge Computing-A Feasible and Integrated Approach to Collecting System Data Webinar, June 5, 2024
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- AI for Industry-Navigating Policy, Ethics and Innovation Webinar, August 18, 2024
- Data Analytics in Manufacturing: From Data Collecting to Decision Making Webinar, November 12, 2024
- Mechatronics 101 Workshop, Polk State College, November 20, 2025
- Mechatronics 101 Follow-up workshop, Virtual, December 15, 2025
Industry Engagement: Statewide ET Industry Advisory Board
The Florida Statewide Engineering Technology Industry Advisory Board (SETIAB) was created in Spring 2023 to engage Florida manufacturers with Florida colleges offering two- and four-year degree programs in Engineering Technology. The goals of SETIAB are to ensure that the more than twenty ET programs in the state continue to meet the rapidly evolving needs of industry, raise the visibility of the skills and competencies of the program completers, and raise the visibility of the A.S. and B.S. Engineering Technology degree programs around the state. Additionally, SETIAB provides a place for industry from across the state to meet and learn about manufacturing in other regions of Florida.
The first SETIAB meeting took place on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, the evening before the Spring Engineering Technology Forum (ET Forum). The initial board consisted of industry representatives from four state and community colleges, focusing on reviewing degree program competencies, recruiting additional members from other colleges, and establishing its organizational structure and bylaws.
The SETIAB Board includes industry representatives from Florida colleges that offer the ET degree, a member from FloridaMakes, a representative from Florida’s K-12 education system, and a representative from the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Career and Technical Education. Supporting members of SETIAB include representatives from college programs that have an industry member on the board and representatives from FLATE. A college may have more than one industry representative on the board, which helps ensure broad geographic representation and inclusive participation from all manufacturing sectors.
For updates, list of members and more information, visit the SETIAB website: https://fl-ate.org/setiab or contact Ernie Friend at ernie.friend@flate.org.
Other Conference Presentations/Papers:
- Marilyn Barger Ph.D., P.E. (2022). ATE PI Panel Presentation: Bold Innovations in Advanced Manufacturing Technician Education. 2022 ATE Principal Investigators’ Conference. Washington, DC.
- Marilyn Barger Ph.D., P.E.; John Sands (2022). Cyber Security for Manufacturing presentation. 2022 Virtual Engineering Technology Forum. virtual.
- Marilyn Barger Ph.D (2022). FLATE Overview at Manufacturing Conversation. Manufacturing Conversation @Central Virginia Community College. Lynchburg, VA.
- Marilyn Barger, Sam Ajlani, Phill Centonze (2022). Future of Work Issues for Florida Two Year Engineering Technology Program. 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. Minneapolis, MN.
- Marilyn Barger Ph.D., P.E.; FloridaMakes and FLATE Richard Gilbert Ph.D.; University of South Florida College of Engineering (2023). Industry 4.0 Technology Skill Expectation Integration into Engineering Technology Technical Workforce. 2023 ASEE Conference for for Industry and Education Collaboration. North Charleston, SC.
- Marilyn Barger Ph.D., P.E., Richard Gilbert PhD. (2022). Industry-Identified Skills Gaps and Education Pipeline Response. Engineering Technology Leadership Institute, Engineering Technology Leaders: Taking the Next Steps-ASEE. Alexandria, VA.
- Marilyn Barger Ph.D., P.E. (2023). Introducing Dual – Credit Web – Based Mechatronics with High Schools. 2022 Annual Florida Career Pathways Network (FCPN). Jensen Beach.