The Texas Space Leadership Council (TSLC), composed of the Clear Lake Economic Development Foundation, NASA/JSC, United Space Alliance, Boeing, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin (NASA contractors), wants to assess the perceived decline of entry-level engineers in the aerospace industry. The TSLC have an inherent interest in the ability of the workforce to maintain the skills required to remain competitive in the aerospace industry.
NASA is experiencing a decrease in productivity resulting in an insufficient product. The client has requested that a needs assessment be conducted addressing the specific problem of a shortage of entry-level and qualified engineers in the Texas aerospace industry as measured by human resources hiring records. We will determine the optimal number of incoming engineers, based on the projected employment requirements, the actual number of incoming engineers; possible causes for the discrepancy between them, and identify potential solutions to reduce or eliminate the discrepancy.
The optimal and actual data will be gathered by researching statistics (current and projected) for the Texas aerospace and computer engineering workforce from the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the Texas Workforce Commission, the Clear Lake Economic Development Foundation, the NASA Johnson Space Center and it’s affiliated contractors (Boeing, Lockheed, Raytheon, and United Space Alliance) plus conducting interviews with human resource representatives of NASA and it’s contractors.
Optimals, possible cause and solutions will be refined by facilitating groups including the Texas Space Leadership Council, the TSLC Education Subcommittee, and the TSLC Education Strategy Working Group. Additional actual data will be researched by consulting with the Clear Lake Economic Development Foundation Chairman, Jim Reinhartsen and members of the NASA/JSC Human Resources Department, Debbie Denton and Glen Van Zandt. These interviews will also include suggestions for solutions to perceived problems.
Subject matter analysis will be compiled from interviews with NASA Human Resources student program s and recruiting personnel Bob Musgrove and Sharon Evans. The needs assessment team will develop rationales for all proposed solutions using quantitative analysis. The needs assessment will be compiled and presented to the TSLC by the performance technologists led by NASA HR team member Rita Karl.