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A NETWORK OF SUSTAINABLE PARTNERSHIPS

The Florida Advanced Technological Education Center (FLATE), part of the
FloridaMakes network, is committed to helping develop a skilled and qualified workforce
for Florida’s manufacturers. FLATE is committed to building a pipeline of workers for
Florida’s advanced manufacturing sector using a comprehensive, three-pronged approach
that includes curriculum reform, outreach and professional development. In 2011,
Florida industry expressed the need for partnerships with schools to develop a pipeline of
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)-educated employees and schools
expressed a desire for this partnership, but both entities had a slow start forging this.

Unaware of the career growth and wage potential, too many people disregard
manufacturing as a career. However, the image will not change unless manufacturers
work together to change it. Providing an accurate image of manufacturing is imperative
as many still view it as assembly lines of workers manually processing widgets all day.
This guide, produced in partnership with the FloridaMakes Network, outlines how
partnerships between industry and educational institutions can help dispel
commonly held misconceptions, inform students/parents about the world of
modern manufacturing and outline strategies to build in-roads between industry
and education.

Each partnership will have many common and fundamental threads, but may not look
alike. This guide serves as a vehicle to share lessons and best practices to create
successful and sustainable school-industry partnerships. The guide explores and outlines
strategies that schools and industry can mix-and-match to create “win-win” partnerships.
It also offers tips for talking to students about aspects of manufacturing that they can
relate to and/or be passionate about.

Although partnerships start on a one-on-one basis with a person at a school and/or at
a company, it is imperative that partnerships expand to involve more stakeholders.
The ultimate goal is to build a network of sustainable partnerships. If you have
any questions, or need help facilitating a partnership, please reach out to FLATE.

To learn about FLATE and the statewide two year A.S. degree in Engineering Technology
visit www.flate.org and www.madeinflorida.org.

Sincerely,

Marilyn Barger, Ph. D., P.E., CPT

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