A-B Tech Receives NSF Grant to Increase Skilled Workers

A-B Tech Community College was awarded an $898,198 grant from the National Science Foundation to support a project to improve technician training and increase the number of highly skilled workers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) priority areas.

“Skilled Workers Get Jobs 2.0: Appalachian Impact” builds upon the results of a previously funded NSF pilot project at the college that evaluated strategies to retain more female college students in two-year technician preparation programs. Over a three-year period, the college increased the number of female students in the specific STEM programs from 12 to 19 percent. The project also worked to improve all technician training.

Pamela Silvers, former Computer Technologies Chair and coordinator for the pilot project, will now focus her work on leading and managing the new grant project as its principal investigator. Steven Marcus, Networking Technology Instructor, Jim Sullivan, Civil Engineering/Geomatics Technology Chair and Rachael Tipton, Computer Integrated Machining Instructor, are co-principal investigators.

“There is a critical shortage of skilled workers in Technology and Engineering jobs. Increasing female enrollment and persistence in these programs will address this regional problem,” Silvers said.

Expanding on the past success, the Appalachian Impact project will continue to work on narrowing the gender equity enrollment and persistence gap among female college students in targeted advanced technology education priority areas and improve all students’ attainment of college course learning objectives in the priority areas. This will be accomplished by broadening the impact of the gender equity and problem-based learning training for A-B Tech instructors, growing the A-B Tech Women in Technology Ambassador program, and creating learning communities around specific topics at A-B Tech.

The project will also partner with six other community colleges in the Southern Appalachian Region to replicate successful aspects of the pilot project. Blue Ridge, Haywood, Southwestern and Tri-County Community Colleges in North Carolina will be participating with Northeast State Community College in Tennessee and Virginia Highlands Community College. There will be gender equity and problem-based learning training for instructors, a Women in Technology Ambassador program, and professional development opportunities.

The Career and Technical Education division of the North Carolina Community College System will also support the project by conducting three site trainings in key locations across the state for the 58 colleges.

“The premise of the project is that the unique combination of gender equity practices, problem-based learning, and a support network are critically important to recruitment and retention of all students – particularly under-represented populations, such as female students in technology and engineering programs,” Silvers said.

The project will serve more than 4,000 undergraduate students, pre-college students, college faculty and pre-college faculty over a three-year period. The objectives are to increase the percentage of female students who enroll in the targeted technician programs by 15 percent per year and to increase the fall-to-fall retention rate of the female students.

“This grant will allow us to test drive interventions to see if we can impact not only the number of women pursuing degrees and careers in advanced technology areas, but also help them rise to the top of their class,” said A-B Tech President Dennis King.

“We are honored to have been chosen by NSF to lead such a prestigious project and cannot wait to see the positive impact it will have on students,” said King.