Kent-based Blue Origin will be one of several companies that will work with the National Space Council to help support space-related STEM initiatives to inspire, prepare and employ the next generation of the space workforce.
“Honored to collaborate with the National Space Council, chaired by the vice president, on STEM and workforce development to build the space industry talent pipeline for the benefit of Earth,” Blue Origin said in a statement.
At the second convening Sept. 9 of the National Space Council, Vice President Kamala Harris announced new commitments from the U.S. government, private sector companies, education and training providers and philanthropic organizations.
In order to address the challenges of today and prepare for the discoveries of tomorrow, the country needs a skilled and diverse space workforce, according to a White House statement. This is why the White House released the Interagency Roadmap to Support Space-Related STEM Education and Workforce.
“This Roadmap outlines the initial set of coordinated administration actions to bolster our nation’s capacity to inspire, prepare and employ a diverse and inclusive space workforce, starting with increasing awareness of the wide range of space careers, providing resources and opportunities to better prepare jobseekers for the workplace, and placing a focus on strategies to recruit, retain and advance professionals of all backgrounds in the space workforce,” according to the White House statement.
In order to meet the current and future needs of a thriving space workforce, the public, private and philanthropic sectors must work together, according to the statement. To magnify the administration’s efforts, the vice president is announcing a new coalition of space companies that will focus on increasing the space industry’s capacity to meet the rising demand for the skilled technical workforce.
The new coalition’s work will kick off in October 2022 and be anchored by Blue Origin, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Other industry partners will include Amazon, Jacobs, L3Harris, Planet Labs PBC, Rocket Lab, Sierra Space, Space X and Virgin Orbit, and will be joined by the Florida Space Coast Consortium Apprenticeship Program and its sponsors, SpaceTEC, Airbus OneWeb Satellites, Vaya Space and Morf3D.
The coalition, with the support of Aerospace Industries Association and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, will stand up three regional pilot programs in Florida’s Space Coast, the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Mississippi and Southern California, and collaborate with service providers such as community colleges, unions and others, to demonstrate a replicable and scalable approach to attracting, training and creating employment opportunities particularly for people from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in STEM jobs.
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