Rep. Esty introduces legislation to promote engineering education and manufacturing.
Rep. Elizabeth Esty is the lead sponsor of a bill to link engineering education to high-tech manufacturing through specific grants to colleges and universities with engineering programs.
The Manufacturing Universities Act would provide grants of up to $5 million annually over four years for college-level programs. It has some bipartisan support with Rep. Chris Collins, R-Buffalo, signing up as a co-sponsor. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is among those co-sponsoring a companion bill in the Senate along with Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.
The grants would help colleges and universities improve engineering programs that emphasize manufacturing, increase the number of joint projects with manufacturing firms, and support students who want to make manufacturing a career.
“Connecticut is built on its strong manufacturing tradition and thrives as a national leader in manufacturing, particularly for defense, biomedical, and energy industries,’’ Esty said in a statement. “Our state is home to over 5,000 manufacturers that provide good-paying jobs for Connecticut families, but manufacturers often struggle to find workers with the right skills.’’
The subject of acquiring the advance technical skills for employment in 21st century manufacturing is a signature issue for Esty, who is on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
Last week, Esty and U.S. Labor Department Deputy Secretary Chris Lu toured Henry Abbott Technical School in Danbury. They participated in a roundtable discussion highlighting a new manufacturing partnership between Naugatuck Valley Community College’s Danbury campus and Abbott Tech.
UCONN has one of the state’s leading engineering programs and its provost, Mun Choi, said the Esty measure held out promise for improved connections between students and manufacturing opportunities.
“The Manufacturing Universities initiative is an exciting program that will transform high-tech manufacturing technologies and workforce development in the United States,” Choi said. “The University of Connecticut is uniquely positioned to support this program through new investments in additive manufacturing, advanced materials characterization, composite fabrication and materials development in collaboration with aerospace, biomedical, electronics and energy industries.”