NEF releases report to find solution to the engineering industry’s 3C challenges (capacity, capability and competitiveness). Photo: Business Wire.
The National Engineering Forum (NEF) was created by Lockheed Martin, the Council of Competitiveness (CoC) and the National Academy of Engineering to find solutions to the challenges of capacity, capability and competitiveness in engineering. The NEF has now released a report addressing these challenges, dubbed the 3C’s.
The report, “Engineering our Nation’s Future,” takes the input of various executive level industry representatives from ten dialogues hosted by the NEF. The report outlines how the nation can sustain and preserve the “engineering enterprise.”
Deborah Wince-Smith, CEO of CoC and NEF leader, said, “The National Engineering Forum is elevating American awareness of the impact and contribution of engineering to our way of life … From mitigating climate change, to enhancing cyber security, to balancing and optimizing resources for energy, food, and water, the National Engineering Forum is the only platform engaging these diverse, influential leaders in conversations about the national resource that is American engineering.”
NEF’s report focuses on five themes:
1. Understanding the 3C’s
2. Education and advocacy
3. Engineering’s public perception
4. Investment from public & private sources
5. Immigration reform
Jeff Wilcox, NEF founder and VP of engineering at Lockheed Martin, said, “The NEF movement has revealed a passion in this country for supporting engineering as a catalyst for innovation, prosperity and security … This passion reaches across industries, academic institutions, national laboratories, and communities, and highlights how critical engineering is to our national success story.”
The regional dialogs began in 2012 when the NEF was launched. The talks gathered input from academic, government, industry, labour, labs, finance, media and arts leaders. The next round of dialogs will begin in February 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Click this link to read the report.
Or for more on Lockheed Martin’s views on improving the public image, job market, hire-ability and other trends in engineering, watch Lockheed Martin’s CTO Dr. Ray Johnson speak at the USA Science and Engineering Festival:
Source Business Wire.