Industrial Talk is onsite at FABTECH 23 and talking to Jeannine Kunz and Deb Volzer, Workforce Development Team at SME about "Workforce solutions that inspire the next generation of industrial professionals".  Here are some of the key takeaways from our conversation:


Securing operational technology with Palo Alto Networks. 0:00

Palo Alto Networks offers zero trust security for operational technology, simplifying management and providing comprehensive visibility and protection.


Workforce development in manufacturing with SME leaders. 1:15

Scott MacKenzie welcomes listeners to the industrial talk podcast and thanks them for their support, while also highlighting the importance of the conference he is attending in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott is inspired by the passion and innovation of the conference attendees, who are changing the world with their work in various industries.
Jeannine Kunz, Chief Workforce Development Officer at SME, has been with the nonprofit for 23 years and has led education and training areas.
Deb Volzer, a new member of the SME team, is excited to bring the organization's expertise to higher education and leverage partnerships to change manufacturing.


Inspiring youth for manufacturing careers. 6:06

Jeannine highlights the importance of inspiring youth to join the manufacturing industry, citing a lack of awareness and understanding of its potential.
Deb emphasizes the need to enlighten and inspire youth to recognize manufacturing as the backbone of the economy and a viable career path.
Deb outlines a goal to throughput 1000 net new individuals per campus per year for 3 years, resulting in 75,000 trained and skilled individuals in manufacturing.
Industry partners like Jeannine emphasize the importance of their involvement in communicating needs to schools, providing work-based learning opportunities, and hiring graduates to support the education system and meet workforce demands.


Workforce development for manufacturing industry. 11:17

Deb: Aligning education with industry needs, closing skill gaps, and building open lines of communication between educators and employers.
Jeannine: Helping educators understand employer needs, adjusting to shorter timelines, and creating on and off ramps for learning and working to get people into jobs faster.
Scott MacKenzie emphasizes the importance of innovative and creative approaches to address the workforce pipeline challenge in manufacturing, particularly in dislocated workers and adult learners.
Deb highlights the need to understand the local market and community needs, and to develop strategic plans for each community college to address sector strategies and bring in new skills.


Workforce development in the manufacturing industry. 16:27

Collaboration is key to success in the manufacturing industry, with a focus on leveraging the strengths of various organizations and stakeholders to achieve a shared vision.




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