The Associated Press
WICHITA, Kan. — Looking to stave off an exodus of Kansas engineering jobs, state and industry officials and Wichita State University are looking to boost technical training in public schools.
The effort could begin next fall if WSU officials are successful in getting a $2 million grant from the Knight Foundation to expand pre-engineering and other science courses, first in three Wichita public schools and then beyond.
State leaders recommended the university apply because they were worried some of the state’s biggest employers may leave Kansas or send work elsewhere because they can’t find enough engineers in Wichita.
“Everyone knows the national economy isn’t doing well, and that if we don’t solve some of the problems here, we could lose what we have,” said Pete Gustaf, president of Wichita Area Technical College.
Zulma Toro-Ramos, dean of the College of Engineering at WSU, said company executives told her that schools need to better prepare students for the 400 to 500 additional engineering jobs and thousands of skilled-labor positions the industry needs to fill in Wichita.
A program called Project Lead the Way is already in place in some Wichita schools, offering pre-engineering courses on engineering design, computer integrated manufacturing, and civil engineering and architecture.
Toro-Ramos is coordinating efforts to expand that program, first in other Wichita schools, then to Derby and other school districts.
While not all of those students will become engineers, they’ll at least be prepared for other technical training offered by technical colleges.
“The point of all this is not only to develop engineers but to maintain the standard of living here in Wichita,” Toro-Ramos said. “You maintain the standard of living when you maintain the industry here, and the work force.”
The U.S. Department of Labor has already provided $260,000 in grants for equipment and training and a proposal for another $100,000 from the National Science Foundation.
That program will go forward even if WSU doesn’t get the Knight Foundation grant, Toro-Ramos said. She said high school students would be brought on campus to work with faculty in the research labs and train more K-12 teachers to prepare students for technical and engineering careers.
Kansas Senate President Stephen Morris said he and other lawmakers are worried that Wichita’s aircraft companies and engineer-reliant companies in the Kansas City area, such as Black & Veatch, Garmin and Burns & McDonnell, could leave the state or send jobs elsewhere.
He said those businesses are currently short by 1,500 engineers.
“Part of the reason our state is not growing as fast as other states is because of this shortage,” said Morris, R-Hugoton.
Reggie Robinson, president and chief executive of the Kansas Board of Regents, has been pressing universities to do more to help public schools address the shortage of technical training. Toro-Ramos, as well as deans at the University of Kansas and Kansas State University, have made plans to recruit, train and mentor public school students.
“The shortage is so severe that when I show up at career fairs and talk to company representatives I become almost uncomfortable,” said Stuart Bell, KU’s dean of engineering. “They are so desperate for engineers. We’re not meeting their needs.”
Technical education costs money, especially for equipment, which becomes obsolete in three years or less because of technological improvements.
Wichita public schools don’t have the resources to keep up with those demands, but the Wichita Area Technical College is building a $54 million training center near Jabara Airport in 2010 and could allow schoolchildren to use the equipment there.
Toro-Ramos said the engineer shortage is a national problem as many young students in the U.S. don’t want to become engineers.
At WSU, foreign-born students make up 25 percent of engineering undergraduates and 75 percent of engineering graduate students. Many of them plan to return to their home countries, she said.
