Automation Federation Teams Hold Joint Meetings

Workforce Development Teams 1 & 2 Meet With Key U.S. Department of Labor Staff

In a joint meeting on Wednesday, the two workforce development teams met with Steve Rietzke, Amanda Ahlstrand, and Jen Troke, with the DoL's Office of Workforce Investment. The meeting proved invaluable to all members as it gave them a glimpse of the complexity involved in heading up a department of this caliber. During the meeting, the team discussed certification and competency assessment issues, marketing and outreach efforts, and the DoL's current programs in workforce development for advanced manufacturing. There are several opportunities for collaboration with DoL, and the staffers are excited to continue our dialogue and start working on joint initiatives.

AF Delegation Meets With Senior White House Officials

In a meeting on Thursday morning, the 25 delegates from AF met with several senior executive office officials. The team discussed outreach efforts for issue advocacy, and explained key challenges facing the automation profession. The officials were very interested in hearing the details of our issues, and very supportive of our continuing efforts on Capitol Hill. They stressed the importance of our meeting, saying that “we take what you tell us in meetings like these and put it into the policy making process.”

After a 30 minute discussion about workforce development and innovation, the team met with additional officials to discuss our cyber security initiatives. The meeting was a great success and revealed many opportunities for synergy and collaboration with the government.

Later Thursday evening, the entire team held a reception in the Capitol Building for lawmakers, staff, and key Washington contacts. The reception went very well and served as an important networking event for moving forward in our plans.