Icon (Close Menu)

Logout

Fayetteville Tackles Tech Training With Three-pronged Approach (Education/Workforce | Winner, Class I)

3 min read

The Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce had a vision to not only equip business and industry with the talent needed to thrive in today’s changing economy, but also to create pathways that foster economic mobility for residents of the city, the region and Arkansas.

Almost all employment sectors are being affected by technological advancements in artificial intelligence, big data and robotics and automation. With skilled workers at a premium and communities working to attract new employers and promote current employer expansion, Fayetteville took a three-pronged approach.

The chamber devised the Northwest Fab Lab for developing creative solutions, a workforce education textbook titled “The Calling” and the Northwest Regional Robotics Training Center (R2TC) focused on developing robotics and automation skills.

The Northwest Fab Lab is a 5,000-SF digital fabrication lab and makerspace situated in the chamber building on the Fayetteville Square. It features six making labs with seven 3D printers, more than 15 design software programs, two laser engravers, two vinyl cutters, a complete woodworking shop, the largest 3D scanner in 15 states, photography and video production, art, video games creation and assembly and use of Raspberry Pi computers.

Open six days a week and free to the public, the Fab Lab exists for those who tinker, dream, innovate, make, destruct, print, design and build.

“The Calling” sets out to inform parents and students about skilled employment opportunities and careers. At 10,000 copies, it outlines 27 local companies offering career and technical employment opportunities that do not require a four-year college degree.

The companies featured exist in the fields of manufacturing, health care, engineering, automotive, aviation, software design, transportation, plumbing, digital communications, die casting, construction, protein production and senior care. The textbook reached more than 3,000 families and 5,000 students.

R2TC is the result of a partnership between the chamber and Northwest Arkansas Community College, among others, with NWACC conducting a robotics course. The chamber provided space, and grant funding from the Economic Development Administration helped fund the project, which included acquiring five FANUC Robots America commercial robots needed to teach students to become certified robotics technicians.

The program is available to anyone with a GED or high school diploma. R2TC supports the training of a 21st Century, technically skilled workforce that has added benefits in the realm of entrepreneurship and economic development from a business attraction standpoint.

It is open five days a week, with special programs on weekends, and is situated to support residents where they live in order to serve students, incumbents, displaced workers and people trying to upgrade their skills.

Among R2TC’s many partners are the Fayetteville, Prairie Grove, Farmington, Elkins, Greenland, Lincoln and West Fork school systems. Students from these districts take part in the Tech for Teens program held at the Fab Lab, building robots from parts and showcasing them while demonstrating in competition how robotics knowledge can meet challenges facing businesses and communities.

The NWACC robotics course signup is available on the school’s website. It is a total of 35 hours and R2TC can train up to 15 students a week.

Rather than fearing possible job loss to automation, the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce has created a program that helps businesses as they embrace the future, while also creating a new career pathway for anyone with a GED or high school diploma.

Send this to a friend