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Please join us on January 18, 2017 , when FLATE will host an Internship Panel as the featured presentation of our Industrial Advisory Committee meeting, hosted by Pinellas Technical College’s Clearwater campus. Developing effective and efficient mechanisms and partnerships to support internship programs is an important objective for building the region's technical workforce. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. (The college will provide an optional tour of the manufacturing related programs that starts at 4:30 p.m.). We hope to see you there as we all start planning for seeking, providing, and facilitating summer internships for our Tampa Bay students in various high school and post-secondary manufacturing programs. There are several great resources in our area to help students and companies find each other and get involved in student internships. All attendees will be able to join in the lively discussion and Q & A sessions to share experiences, bring new (and old) intern

FLATE, the Florida-based National Science Foundation Regional Center of Excellence and the Florida Association for Career and Technical Education (FACTE), are working together to coordinate the 2017 FLATE Awards and recognition program. FLATE Awards are geared to recognize secondary and postsecondary educators, and industry professionals for their outstanding contributions to promote and support technology education and career awareness in manufacturing. Awardees are recognized under three separate categories and includes individuals in any manufacturing area including economic development, industry, education and administration. FLATE award winners are selected from nominations submitted from all across the state. Nominees are judged by an Awards Committee made up of industry representatives from FLATE’s Industrial Advisory Committee and   FACTE . The Awards Committee reserves the right to select award recipients that do not meet FACTE’s membership requirements. Awards 2017 FLATE  D

The Tampa Bay Region is rife with manufacturing, and Pinellas Technical College (PTC), one of FLATE’s educational partners in Pinellas County, FL, has several programs that are geared to help meet local/regional manufacturers’ demand for skilled technicians. PTC offers an array of full time certificate programs, apprenticeships and short term courses at its St. Petersburg and Clearwater campuses. Assistant Director, Eric McClendon says the programs offered at PTC are geared to provide quality educational opportunities that meet students’ educational needs as well as the skillset requirement of local businesses and industries. “We offer a problem-solving atmosphere that allows students to learn and be excited about their chosen field of study” McClendon said. The hallmark of PTC’s Manufacturing programs is defined by its emphasis on real-world, employable skills that can be applied across an array of technical areas and industries. The Automation and Production Technology (APT) program,