Upcoming FIRST® Championship an opportunity for STEM-gifted young people to showcase their inventiveness, learn about potential career paths in automation.
Approximately 30,000 young people from around the world are projected to gather in two US cities in late April to participate in the 2018 FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Championship.
The annual championship—which celebrates excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), innovative thinking and teamwork—takes place 18-21 April in Houston, (TX USA) and 25-28 April in Detroit, (MI USA).
The event, culminating months of regional qualifying competitions involving K-12 students, features three separate robotics competition championships—the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship (grades 9-12); the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship (grades 7-12); and the FIRST LEGO League World Festival (grades 4-8)—as well as the FIRST LEGO League Jr. World Festival Expo (grades K-3).
The showcase event is the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), where finalist teams enter robots they have designed, programmed and built in detailed, demanding contests against like-minded competitors. More than 4,100 teams of high school students, ages 14-18/grades 9-12, throughout the world participated in FRC events this year.
 |
| Steven Pflantz 2017 ISA President & Current Chair A.F. |
As strategic alliance partners of FIRST, the International Society of Automation (ISA) and its umbrella organization, the Automation Federation (AF), actively support FIRST’s educational programs and mission, and encourage more young people to pursue careers that fully utilize their STEM skills and interests.
Practicing automation professionals will be available at the Houston event
to answer questions about the automation profession
to answer questions about the automation profession
A select group of practicing automation professionals—volunteering on behalf of ISA—will be present during the FIRST Championship Innovation Faire in Houston (at Exhibit #128) to meet with FIRST competitors and their family members, and to answer any questions they may have about career opportunities in automation and engineering.
“I invite all FIRST competitors to come by our exhibit and learn about the many rewarding, exciting and well-paying careers in automation and engineering,” says Steven Pflantz, an electrical and automation engineer and ISA and Automation Federation leader who has routinely attended and supported FIRST Championship events.
Pflantz, the 2017 ISA President who now serves as Chairman of the Automation Federation, insists the experience will be informative.
“You’ll find out what automation really is all about, what an automation professional really does, and discover the best educational and training paths to follow in order to become one,” he explains. “You’ll get direct insights—first hand, from working professionals in the field—about what automation jobs are really like. Who better to talk about these types of careers than the people who are actually in them?”
In simple terms, automation professionals create and apply technology to control and monitor the production of goods and services. Automation professionals are needed in virtually all areas of manufacturing and industrial innovation, including:
- Oil, wind, and solar power production
- Pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing
- Food and beverage manufacturing
- Computer software and networking
- Industrial cybersecurity
- Government, military, and national defense
- NASA and space programs
- Automotive production, including professional racing
- Amusement parks and entertainment, including roller coaster and ride design
The need for automation professionals far outpaces available supply
The time is right and employment trends are favorable for students interested in careers in automation and engineering. The reason? Demand for qualified employees in these fields far outstrips availability.
For example, the manufacturing sector in the US employs nearly 12 million people (the equivalent of 1 in 6 private sector jobs) and supports almost 5 million more jobs. However, five percent of manufacturing jobs remain unfilled due to a lack of skilled candidates. By one estimate, the US alone will need more than 120 million workers with advanced manufacturing skills by 2020. At the current pace, America will prepare less than half of that number.
“The good news for young people who are capable in STEM fields is that there are a lot of career options relating to automation,” reports Pflantz. “These are well-paying careers that are very rewarding. They give young people the opportunity to invent, explore and create new ways of making our economy, our society, our world better.“
#PAuto #STEM #ISAuto @FIRSTweets #USA
No comments:
Post a Comment