After 16 months of virtual meetings, Florida educators and administrators were eager to take part in the 55th Annual FACTE Conference & Trade Show, held July 19-21 in Orlando, Florida. The Florida Association of Career and Technical Education (FACTE) and the Florida Association of Industrial Technical Education (FAITE), once again, partnered up with the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center (FLATE), to help provide top-quality professional development and share best practices to career and technical (CTE) educators in Florida.

With proper physical distancing and safety protocols, this year’s conference was a success, hosting approximately 500 participants and 28 vendors representing all areas of CTE education. The conference included more than 70 face-to-face meeting opportunities through pre-conference workshops, division meetings and conference sessions. Topics included new and innovative curriculum and strategies for impactful instruction, building pipelines, Florida Department of Education (DOE) frameworks review, CAPE certifications and the importance of industry partnerships. The trade show and sessions, once again, were filled with opportunities for networking, sharing best practices and building relationships among CTE educators and administrators from around the state.

FLATE recently interviewed Dr. Brian Bell, lead faculty for the A.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering Technology at SPC to learn about the program and how it is targeted to help meet workforce demands for biomedical engineering technicians. Historically focused on electronics and troubleshooting, the program has evolved to include training in medical device networking, medical device security and medical device manufacturing. Through the 60-credit hour program, students learn electronics troubleshooting, computer repair and how to properly use and test medical technology – infusion pump performance testing, x-ray calibration and patient monitor alarm testing. Bell shared that the program is tied to the CBET – the Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician program and that students graduate ready to work for healthcare organizations and original equipment manufacturers as well as third-party service providers. 

For more information about the program visit https://bit.ly/2PVOJVm, or contact Professor Brian Bell.  

Feske decided to go back to school and pursue a medical-related educational pathway after the recession in 2008. In his words, "I realized how the medical field offered a solid career pathway as well as job security." In less than three years, he was able to enter a new career field at an entry level and then move up through the company. Feske was hired at Lakeland Regional Medical Center prior to his internship so was able to fulfill his internship requirements while on the job. At the time of the interview, he had been promoted to site lead, handling all offsite clinic locations and surgery departments. Through the BMET program, Feske received his CBET (certified biomedical equipment technician) certification and has continued with his studies, working for his HTM (Healthcare Technology Management) certification.

A new Nuts, Bolts, and Thingamajigs (NBT) impact study of their summer manufacturing camp programs shows the lasting benefits of these programs. The study analyzed six years of camp survey data from hosts and participants, along with quantitative and qualitative data from manufacturers and industry supporters. 

NBT awarded 2021 grants for K-12 manufacturing-related camps to several Florida colleges: Hillsborough Community College (HCC), the College of Central Florida (CF) and State College of Florida (SCF). The HCC camps began in June with an on-site Engineering & Tech Camp for High School and Virtual Robotics Camps (Intro & Intermediate) for Middle School. HCC's All-Girls Intro to Robotics Camp for girls ages 12-17 was changed to in-person and was held in July at the HCC campus in Brandon.  This Girls-Only camp was free to all campers and included a JIMU Astrobot by UBTECH to keep. Additional camps held from July 12-23 included two in-person robotics camps for Middle School.

Did you have a camp this summer? Tell us about it so FLATE can feature your camp in a future news article. Send details to marilyn.barger@flate.org.

Since 2012, Manufacturing Day/Month has grown across the nation with the goal of inspiring the future manufacturing workforce. In Florida, the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center (FLATE), FloridaMakes and the Regional Manufacturers Associations (RMAs) provide support to our Manufacturers and our Educators to plan student tours and other events to showcase our manufacturing industry. Celebrations kick off on the 1st Friday in October and introduce students to manufacturing and its many great careers. You can participate in plant tours, educational webinars, manufacturing roundtables and special events all month and all year with Florida's students!

Access promotional materials including posters, logos and FLATE's Best Practice Guide for Industry Tours at http://madeinflorida.org/manufacturing-day.

FLATE's free "Get Ready for Manufacturing Month" Webinar Series will help Industry Hosts & Educators plan successful and engaging Manufacturing Month student experiences and provide resources for both in person and virtual activities.

Eastern Florida State College (EFSC) is the newest home to an advanced composites learning center designed to educate and train composites technicians to support Florida's Space Coast manufacturing region. As part of IACMI’s Advanced Composites Career Pathways program, representatives from Eastern Florida State College (EFSC) and the Space Coast Consortium (SCC) were in Utah last month participating in composites technician training at Davis Technical College. 

Students can now earn an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Engineering Technology thanks to a unique partnership between the College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky UK and the Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC). The new Department of Engineering Technology — made possible in large part to a $2.25 million gift from Toyota — offers two four-year undergraduate degrees in lean systems engineering technology and computer engineering technology.

A digital skill gap in the workforce has been accelerated by the pandemic across all industry sectors. The Research on Digital Skills, Digital Literacy, and the Future of Work Report found an increase in the number of middle-skill jobs requiring digital skills and greater earnings in those positions. Middle-skill jobs requiring digital skills represented more than 38% of job postings during the report. As we prepare individuals for entry-level positions and provide the required reskilling for roles in other industry sectors, equipping workers with digital skills can support continued success in their career paths.

The approach by community and technical colleges of embedding “stackable” certificates aligned to industry certifications within associate degrees has emerged as a practical way of helping students progress along the education continuum while earning credentials with labor market value. Introduction to Stackable Credential was published by the U.S. Department of Education to provide strategies for enhancing employer engagement, designing programs with stackable credentials, supporting student completion, and sustaining programs responsive to employer needs. Each section offers resources, tools, and promising practices.

The National Career Pathways Network offers comprehensive technical assistance and professional coaching for state and local adult education program teams and their partnering agencies. NCPN webinars provide timely information for educators, employers, and other stakeholders in Career Pathways, programs of study, stackable credentials, employability skills, workforce development, career and technical education, and related topics. The next one is August 19th at 11 AM EST on Beyond Dual Credit Courses: Creating High School Academies That Offer Stackable Credentials