By the end of 2023, a Registered Apprenticeship Accelerator focused on the space sector’s skilled technical workforce will help inspire, prepare, and employ the next generation of the space workforce. That’s just one of many national initiatives announced by Vice President Kamala Harris during the second Space Council Meeting held Friday, September 9 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
According to the press release, Harris announced several public and private sector commitments to support space-related STEM initiatives.
Headlined as the White House Interagency Roadmap to Support Space-Related STEM Education and Workforce, the plan outlines actions to bolster the capacity to inspire, prepare and employ a diverse and inclusive space workforce.
For example, to help increase diversity in space internships, The Aerospace Corporation has announced the Space Workforce 2030 Internship program to grow and diversify the space workforce.
The thirty Space Workforce 2030 pledge signatories will increase the number of diverse interns by hiring at least 3,000 interns by the summer of 2023. Interested students will be placed in a pool of applicants from which the 30 companies will interview and hire.
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:
The partners will be joined by the Florida Space Coast Consortium Apprenticeship Program and its sponsors, SpaceTEC, Airbus OneWeb Satellites, Vaya Space, and Morf3D.
With the support of the Aerospace Industries Association and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the coalition will stand up 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 attract, train and create employment opportunities, particularly for people from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in STEM jobs.
Additionally, federal agencies and the private sector have coordinated their efforts to promote space STEM education and the workforce.
The Department of Defense will launch a space STEM careers page during World Space Week (Oct 4-Oct 12) to showcase career paths, increase awareness about military space career opportunities, and will feature a U.S. Space Force member during its monthly DoD Innovators Spotlight Series in October.
The Department of Agriculture and NASA are announcing the Artemis Moon Trees Program with online educational resources to engage individuals in learning about Moon Trees and inspire exploration of space careers. The agencies are collaborating on the next generation of Moon Trees, which will be grown from seeds that orbit the Moon via NASA’s Artemis I mission.
NASA has also released the Artemis I STEM Learning Pathway educator resources hub and the LEGO Build to Launch Series, to explore the technology, STEM concepts and careers behind the Artemis I mission. NASA announced $4M for Space Grant Kids to bring the excitement of NASA to middle and high school students who are underserved and underrepresented in STEM.
In addition, the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez became a member of The Department of Defense’s United States Space Force (USSF) University Partnership Program, which will enhance collaboration on research projects that further national security objectives in the space domain, and grow and develop a qualified, diverse, and inclusive space workforce. USSF, the Air Force ROTC program, is increasing the value of scholarships for high school students to cover their full college tuition and fees.
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