SEPT. 23, 2021 | News
TEES created the “Manufacturing and Skills Development Program” project to provide the IBAS Program an in-depth understanding of Texas’ manufacturing economy. Texas has the second largest manufacturing economy in the U.S. — accounting for 10 percent of manufacturing GDP and making up roughly 13 percent of total output in the state. More than 900,000 Texans work in approximately 25,000 manufacturing firms. With more than 105 years of experience supporting Texas’ engineering workforce, TEES can quickly enhance current capabilities by leveraging existing programs to cultivate the local STEM ecosystems across the state, advance technology skills, and increase awareness of career options for students. In doing so, TEES also raises awareness of DoD’s critical needs in the state and will develop methodologies and results to evaluate and address DoD-relevant manufacturing skills expandable throughout the nation.
“TEES’ aggressiveness and ability to cast a wide net across Texas to bring together the best and brightest from industry and academia, as well as visionaries at the state and local government levels has led to this milestone investment. Their efforts are laying the foundation for the next generation of U.S. STEM and manufacturing professionals,” said Mr. Jesse Salazar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy.
The IBAS office connected with TEES through its Skills Imperative initiative to begin rapid mobilization of partnerships and drive a coordinated engagement with stakeholders across Texas.
“Texas A&M Engineering has a long history of serving national security needs and provides natural mission alignment with the DoD. We are deeply committed in supporting our nation’s military and defense programs through advancing manufacturing and more broadly, the manufacturing workforce. Our partnership with DoD IndPol is critical in securing the future of U.S. manufacturing,” said Dr. John E. Hurtado, Interim Vice Chancellor of Engineering for the Texas A&M University System and Interim Director for TEES.
This project is on-track to create a Texas manufacturing skills gap report and roadmap to provide national, state, and industry stakeholders the ability to address critical defense-related skills gaps. The project will conclude by developing a scalable, transportable playbook on effective ways to engage and enhance domestic manufacturing capabilities. The project has delivered its Phase 1 gap analysis report and has Phase 2 scheduled to begin on September 30th.
Adele Ratcliff, IBAS Program Director, says “I could not be more excited about the work TEES has done in such a short period of time to engage and energize stakeholders across Texas. This project is a big step in the right direction to reinvigorate defense workforce supply chains.”
For additional information on this, and other IBAS projects, please email the IBAS team at osd.pentagon.ousd-a-s.mbx.ibas@mail.mil.
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