Education leaders say innovation is the key to addressing our state’s workforce challenges. Officials from higher education institutions and CareerTech met to share their insights at the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s annual State of the Schools. The event was held last month at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Throughout the nearly 30-minute dialogue, a clear message emerged: Colleges, universities and career technology centers across the OKC metropolitan area must continue to seek new avenues for collaboration, fostering partnerships not only with each other but also with local businesses. This collaborative effort is essential for nurturing a skilled and qualified workforce. Since 2000, OSU-Oklahoma City has enjoyed a partnership with OG&E, which has provided valuable resources and expertise to OSU-OKC’s Power Transmission and Distribution Technology program. In exchange, the college builds a ready workforce of linemen for the utility company. “They’ve donated trucks and trailers and poles, and they’ve allowed employees to step away from their positions and adjunct for us. Those are some of the very visible contributions,” said Dr. Paula Stinson, OSU- OKC’s provost and vice president of academic affairs. OG&E also contributes in other, not-so-visible ways such as offering internships to OSU-OKC students as well as providing them with scholarships and serving on important advisory boards within the college. Aerospace is the second largest industry in the state and requires a steady pipeline of workers. Oklahoma City is home to major aerospace employers such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Tinker Air Force Base, the state’s largest single-site employer. The importance of having a well-skilled workforce for the aerospace industry is critical. That’s why Rose State College in Midwest City has gone to great lengths to establish aerospace as a major emphasis on its campus. RSC President Dr. Jeannie Webb shared how her institution partnered with Metro Technology Center pre-COVID to create an aerospace pathway that would allow students to further their education and careers STATE OF THE SCHOOLS EVENT SPARKS CALL FOR COLLABORATION
in aerospace. Students who earn an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Certificate from MetroTech would be able to attend Rose State and earn an associate degree. Since the pathway’s inception, many other post- secondary institutions have joined the partnership, including OKC-area technology centers and several universities around the state, including OU, OSU, UCO, Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Southwestern Oklahoma State University. “We try to work with all of our local partners. But when we think aerospace, here is what’s really important: It’s not just engineering. It’s data analytics. It’s coding. It’s cyber. It’s aviation, and it’s 3D printing and metal fabrication,” Webb said. The competition is not between any of the partners but to meet the workforce demands, she said, emphasizing the need to work together to accomplish that goal. Keynote speaker Dr. Bryan Johnson then took the stage and echoed what was a common theme heard throughout the panel discussion – that education and businesses need to work together more to meet workforce needs. Johnson, who serves as executive vice chancellor and chief strategy officer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, encouraged the audience to stop pointing fingers and blaming others for an ill-prepared workforce. We should instead mobilize and work together to solve this issue rather than working in silos, he said. He also stressed the need for the business community to put some skin in the game by investing both time and money in the effort. Dr. Bryan Johnson was the keynote speaker at the Chamber’s State of the Schools event last month. He urged Oklahoma City businesses to invest both time and money in helping prepare a skilled workforce.
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