The Space Grant Foundation provides a coordinating environment for workforce development and training among the network of 52 (all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico) Space Grant Consortia (www.hq.nasa.gov/spacegrant/). Using aerospace as a stimulating education and training environment, Space Grant is addressing a number of high-tech workforce development issues emerging across the Nation.
The Council on Competitiveness (a non-profit 501c3 organization established in 1986) has set an action agenda to drive U.S. economic competitiveness and leadership in world markets in order to raise the standard of living for all Americans. The Council shapes the national debate on competitiveness by concentrating on a few critical issues:
- Technological innovation;
- Workforce development and;
- The benchmarking of U.S. economic performance against other countries.
On 5 April 2001, The Council on Competitiveness convened its second National Innovation Summit, which identified workforce skills as the single most important driver for US competitiveness. The Federal Government has initiated several national efforts (Workforce Investment Act (WIA - usworkforce.org) and Senate Bill 2045 (H-1B Visa) to address the critical shortage of both high-tech workers and skilled labor. The common attributes of these programs are:
- Business focused activities that promote economic development and increased coordination of programs and activities;
- Provides funds and "one-stop" services for state/local high-tech workforce programs;
- Facilitates links between K-12, higher education, and retraining programs;
- Demands accountability for results.
For over fifteen years, the Space Grant Consortia have actively addressed workforce development issues throughout the Nation.
- Space Grant facilitates and supports the development of a diverse technical workforce through its national network of scientists, engineers, and educators from both the public and private sectors. Special attention has been given to high-tech workforce issues involving under-represented groups.
- Space Grant stimulates and nurtures innovative public and private programs to assure the development and transfer of practical applications in aerospace research, education, and training
- Space Grant cultivates a nationwide network of partners from universities, industry, museums, science centers, state and local agencies, to pursue state and national aerospace workforce and economic development goals.
- Space Grant facilitates the interface and access to America’s aerospace programs at the local, state, and national levels.
- Space Grant educates and trains students at all levels by facilitating and supporting aerospace-related interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary experiential workforce programs involving mentors from government, industry, and academia.
- Space Grant serves the general public by contributing to scientific and technical literacy.