According to a recent survey of approximately 3,000 engineers conducted by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (New York, New York, USA), eight in 10 engineers anticipate a change in operations due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and an overall reduction in business. According to ASME, escalating changes in an already evolving industry landscape has prompted the organization to offer even more flexible, affordable, and applicable virtual training solutions to help engineers strengthen their skills for both the current and post-pandemic workplaces.
“The engineering work landscape has been rapidly evolving, and the [COVID-19] pandemic has accelerated and changed the landscape in ways we are only beginning to understand,” says Tom Costabile, executive director and chief operating officer for ASME. “Engineers are applying technologies including artificial intelligence, robotics and 3D monitoring to help people respond to the public health crisis, and also to adapt processes in many industrial sectors and transform supply chains in the future.”
“A significant number of engineers graduate with powerful textbook knowledge of fundamentals and theory, but lack the skills needed to apply that knowledge in their day-to-day work,” adds Arin Ceglia, ASME’s director of learning and development. “Even experienced engineers might become siloed and not have the ability and awareness to keep pace with the rapidly evolving technical field.”
Many courses featured in the association’s current training portfolio are based on the application of ASME codes and standards, from boilers and pressure vessels and gas turbines to piping and pipelines and designs and materials. Other courses provide opportunities for advancing engineering technology, including additive manufacturing, cell manufacturing, and industrial automation.
Online learning opportunities may help to bridge a skills gap that had been developing even prior to COVID-19. “Addressing this skills gap is critical, and it informs how those of us working in engineering learning and development approach everything from course design to education technology,” says Ceglia.
Source: ASME, www.asme.org.