Future of the Technician Workforce Study

1. ABOUT THIS REPORT This study is based on the growing discussion within national and state workforce development about how smart, automation and transformative technologies are impacting industry, the technical workplace and ultimately the technician workforce in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate NY. Recent reports from management consulting firms like McKinsey & Company and Deloitte as well as international organizations such as the World Economic Forum, have discussed the significant and projected impact the adoption of these technologies by industry will have on the worker and employment. From the perspective of the community college educator, the fourth industrial revolution poses the need for greater insight as to how these transformative industrial technologies will be addressed within existing and new technician focused curricula and training that are primarily offered through the community college system. The opportunities available to workers and residents from upskilling workers to fill in demand technical occupations less vulnerable to automation and requiring more complex and higher functioning skillsets is rapidly becoming one of the most important 21st century workforce development issues. MCC recognizes the need for a workforce development model to adequately prepare the future Industry 4.0 (i4.0) technicians. These transformed job roles hold the promise of providing economic prosperity and global competitiveness for the industries within the Finger Lakes region of New York. In order to better document how i4.0 technologies will impact college programming, MCC established a leadership steering committee to coordinate a local symposium for recognized subject matter experts, business and industry members, and other community stakeholders of the Rochester and Finger Lakes region to gather and provide extensive input along a set of research questions. The collective expertise and diverse perspectives encapsulated in this report help MCC address two major prerequisite objectives of its broader workforce development strategy: (1) determine the regional impacts of Industry 4.0 and transformative technologies on Finger Lakes regional businesses; and (2) identify the future technological competency, knowledge, and skill requirements of regional employers. The primary focus of this report is to assist with informing the revision of existing, and development of new, technical training and academic programming at MCC over the next 3 to 5 years. This workforce development report was developed under the leadership of Dr. Todd Oldham, Vice President, Economic Development, Workforce and Career Technical Education at MCC, and members of the project Steering Committee. MCC wishes to thank the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation for their generous funding and support without which, this study and subsequent report would not have been possible. MCC also wishes to thank the Steering Committee Members for their valuable guidance and input throughout the project, which includes:

Todd Oldham , Vice President, Economic Development, Workforce and Career Technical Education, MCC

Matt Hurlbutt , President & CEO, Greater Rochester Enterprise

Ron Ricotta , President & CEO, Century Mold

Amber Mooney , Director, Workforce Development, The Business Council of NYS, Inc. Melinda Mack , Executive Director, NY Assoc. of Training & Employment Professionals

Mike Mandina , President, Optimax Systems, Inc.

Madhuri Kommareddi , Director, Workforce Development, Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Craig McAtee , Executive Director, National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers Lynn Freid , Regional Director, Rochester and Genesee Valley, Workforce Development Institute Mike Thurston , Director, Center of Excellence in Advanced & Sustainable Manufacturing

Kevin Kelley , Executive Director, Rochester Technology & Manufacturing Association

Sam Samanta , Professor of Physics Instrumentation and Control Technologies, Finger Lakes Community College Joe Wesley , Director, Strategic Workforce Development, Wegmans Food Markets

Bruce Peters , Principal, Beyond Teal

MCC wishes to thank Mel Anton, Ross Brindle, Kendra Chappell, Jack Holmes, Jared Kosters, and Morgan Smith with Nexight Group for their expert facilitation of the stakeholder workshop and support preparing this report.

| 2 MCC Economic and Workforce Development Center