Advanced Manufacturing Training Needs in Northeast Iowa

The gap between skilled workers needed and skilled workers available increased since the start of the fourth industrial revolution. Employees now need different knowledge, skills, and abilities to enter the workforce and stay current with new technologies than they did in the past. One way this knowledge gap and skilled worker shortage could be decreased was by providing the correct training at the local community college. This research provided a method for community colleges to determine current job demand by Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code in their region through the collection of data from online job search engines. The advanced manufacturing CIP codes with the highest occupational demand in Northeast Iowa Community College's (NICC) district were found to be machine shop technology/assistant, tool and die technology/technician, operations management and supervision, and quality control technology/technician. This research determined that there is a knowledge gap between what the local manufacturing industry desired employees to know and what was being taught at NICC for all CIP codes analyzed even though NICC was teaching multiple major topics desired by industry. The programs least aligned with industry needs were found to be warehousing management, operations management, and CAD with zero to 30 percent of major topics desired by industry being taught for each program. One method to improve curriculum at community colleges is to offer a core curriculum for advanced manufacturing which would provide students with the basic skills needed in multiple manufacturing careers. Job postings in the top 10 CIP codes representing the highest demand job postings of the region were analyzed for recurring desired competencies. There were seven universal competencies identified across the 10 CIP codes analyzed in this research. These included soft skills, communication skills, computer skills, safety, algebra/trigonometry, lifting equipment, and problem solving. The CAD, CNC, machine shop technology, tool and die, and quality control CIP codes had competencies that were more closely related to each other, representing advanced manufacturing. Five advanced manufacturing CIP codes resulted in eight universal competencies including soft skills, communication skills, computer skills, problem solving, machine trades print reading, precision measurement, algebra/trigonometry, and quality control. Five advanced manufacturing CIP codes were utilized to guide the development of a 15 credit core curriculum that addressed all eight universal competencies under the advanced manufacturing CIP codes. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]