Two unique educational opportunities that took place at the AWFS®Fair enhanced the experience for teachers, students, and general attendees by providing more resources and information related to career awareness.
The Industry-Education Networking Breakfast on Thursday morning was a jam-packed event, with over fifty teachers and industry professionals coming together to share their challenges and how they can work together to find solutions and “bridge the skills gap”. A big conversation was the “language barrier” between industry and education, which many people find a common issue when trying to address the skilled careers gap and work with partners on the other side. The attendees learned from Dean Mattson and his success at The MiLL. Many other committed educators and industry pros were in the room ready to network with one another and move toward action.
The Education Town Hall, powered by PechaKucha was a fast-paced event that took place on the AWFS Fair Live stage on Saturday morning, July 20. Nine post secondary woodworking program representatives spoke about their programs, in the lively PechaKucha format, meaning they only had 20 slides and 20 seconds per slide to speak. The presenters spoke to a full audience at the stage, and there were questions and interest in the programs during the presentations. The schools that presented were: Cerritos College; Madison College; Palomar College; California College of the Arts; Center for Furniture Craftsmanship; Pittsburg State University; Seattle Central College; The Mill, and the New England School of Architectural Woodwork (NESAW). See all details here; videos of each presentation will be posted in the coming weeks.