- New training program will be first under Siemens Foundation’s new
SPARKS Initiative to advance STEM middle-skills workforce development
in partnership with Siemens’ businesses
WASHINGTON -- (Business Wire)
The Siemens Foundation is advancing its mission to narrow the
opportunity gap for young people in the United States in STEM careers by
launching a new workforce training program to fill skilled positions in
the intelligent buildings industry in collaboration with Siemens
Building Technologies and the Association of Controls Professionals
(ACP). Together, the organizations will create community college
training programs and develop career pathways into local K-12 systems,
both aligned to new, non-proprietary industry certifications under
development by ACP. This innovative program will focus on reaching
traditionally underserved or underrepresented student communities and
providing them the opportunity to excel in a software-driven field. The
Foundation will invest more than $1.6 million in the workforce training
program over a three-year period, with the first iteration expected to
launch in DeKalb County in metro Atlanta in late spring.
“Operating and maintaining today’s smart building systems requires
skilled, technology-minded professionals, but companies like Siemens
continue to have difficulty in finding skilled applicants for these open
positions,” said Dave Hopping, CEO of Siemens Building Technologies
division, Americas. “The development of career pathways from K-12
through community college, leading to high-quality certification, will
help address this gap and grow the diversity of individuals who have an
opportunity to receive training, compete for these software-driven jobs
and earn a competitive salary.”
“A career focused on how to make buildings smarter and more efficient is
truly one of purpose, giving students the opportunity to pursue work in
a field that will play a significant role in reducing emissions and
making our world more sustainable for years to come,” said Brian Lovell,
president of ACP. “There are tens of thousands of jobs in the building
automation field open today and our program’s mission is to provide the
next-generation workforce with the skills and opportunity to fill these
jobs and move the industry, and our world, forward.”
The intelligent buildings workforce training program is a part of the
Siemens Foundation’s new SPARKS (STEM Partnerships to Advance Real-World
Knowledge and Skills) Initiative, an effort to stand-up focused and
employer-informed STEM training programs across industries like smart
infrastructure, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing.
The Foundation will work in tandem with Siemens core businesses to
develop targeted programming that addresses specific workforce
development needs across their industry. Though each program will be
unique, all share common goals under the broader SPARKS Initiative to
provide economic opportunity for America’s next generation of workers
and grow talent for relevant industries.
Since its inception, the Siemens Foundation’s mission has been to ignite
and sustain today’s STEM workforce and tomorrow’s scientists and
engineers. The Foundation has invested more than $115 million in the
United States to advance workforce development and education initiatives
in science, technology, engineering, and math. Its mission is inspired
by the culture of innovation, research and continuous learning that is
the hallmark of Siemens’ companies. Together, the programs at the
Siemens Foundation are narrowing the opportunity gap for young people in
the United States in STEM careers.
Recently, the Foundation took a closer look at the widening U.S. income
gap and shifts in workforce demographics and determined it could better
address the education and economic challenges facing young adults by
leveraging Siemens own business expertise and the Foundation’s
experience in building and implementing youth STEM initiatives. This
focus led to the Foundation’s launch of the STEM Middle-Skill Initiative
in 2015, its inaugural investment in workforce development.
“The Foundation’s mission, at its core, is to ensure opportunity for
those who traditionally have been left behind and make good on America’s
most basic social compact - to ensure that those who set goals and work
hard can provide for themselves, their families, and their communities,”
said David Etzwiler, CEO of the Siemens Foundation. “Work like the STEM
Middle-Skill Initiative and SPARKS partnerships allows us to continue to
deliver on this mission by increasing awareness, advancing proven
training models, and communicating the value of STEM middle-skill
careers.”
Through the STEM Middle-Skill Initiative, the Siemens Foundation has
created an ecosystem of national partners, government leaders, and
educational stakeholders to further its workforce development mission
including the National Governors Association, The Aspen Institute,
Advance CTE, New America, among others. These partnerships have resulted
in expanded work-based learning opportunities, including new registered
apprenticeship programs, the first national conference on
apprenticeship, growing excellent community college STEM programs, and
building a new generation of CTE students.
For further information on the Siemens Foundation, please visit https://www.siemens-foundation.org/programs/stem-middle-skill-initiative/.
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Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global
powerhouse focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and
digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of
energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading
supplier of systems for power generation and transmission as well as
medical diagnosis. With approximately 372,000 employees in 190
countries, Siemens reported worldwide revenue of $92.0 billion in fiscal
2017. Siemens in the USA reported revenue of $23.3 billion, including
$5.0 billion in exports, and employs approximately 50,000 people
throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
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Contacts:
Contact for journalists
Annie Satow
Phone: +1 (202)
316-0219; E-mail: annie.seiple@siemens.com
Source: Siemens Foundation
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