Based in Tucson, Arizona, Pima County Community College District offers a diverse course catalog to efficiently prepare students for the modern workforce. Notably, they are keeping pace with the many intelligent transportation systems in transition including autonomous trucking and aviation operations.
Value of Pima County Community College District’s AUVSI Membership
In a recent discussion, Academic Director(s) Missy Blair (Transportation and Logistics) and Jason Bowersock (Aviation) emphasized creating optimal training opportunities for students as a primary reason for their AUVSI membership.
“Pima Community College's Center for Transportation and Logistics and its Aviation Technology Center are interested in the connections to industry so we can have the best possible outcomes for students and employers alike,” Blair said. “We can't train our students effectively if we don't have those relationships in place.”
Exciting Industry Developments
As the uncrewed systems industry grows, the educators at Pima County Community College see partnerships between industry and academia as an exciting new frontier.
“The ability to work together to build the necessary workforce for jobs of the future [is the most exciting development],” noted Blair. “[We’re] excited to work with industry leaders to shape the future workforce for unmanned trucking and aviation.” Additionally, Blair, Bowersock, and their teams are eager to build short term certificate programs to help employers find well-trained candidates faster.
Pima County Community College’s Role in the Industry’s Future
In addition to competing for grants that help build the workforce and listening to the industry’s workforce needs, Pima County Community College is taking concrete steps to shape the industry’s future.
“Pima's Center for Transportation and Logistics recently convened an advisory committee for its Autonomous Vehicle Driver and Operations Specialist certificate program to further evolve the program as industry has evolved, “ Blair said. According to Bowersock, "Our Aviation Technology program is in the final stages of developing a comprehensive UAS certificate that includes flight training and certification, aircraft maintenance, and industry specific application of skills to meet our employer partner needs.”
Building Public Trust
Missy Blair, Jason Bowersock, and their fellow educators have spearheaded a deliberate effort to foster public trust in this emerging technology.
“Through various nationwide speaking engagements relating to the formation of its Autonomous Vehicle Driver and Operations Specialist certificate program, Pima Community College's Center for Transportation and Logistics has definitely seen a shift in the public trust (engagements/presentations at industry association meetings) from when we first introduced the certificate program in 2019,” said Blair. “We are excited to continue this work as we evolve the program for industry needs now that the program is 5 years old.”
