NASA Taps SUU To Connect Students With Aerospace Careers Across Utah

Southern Utah University will play a central role in a new NASA effort designed to prepare Utah students for careers in the rapidly growing aerospace industry, with school districts in Iron, Washington and Beaver counties among the partners.

NASA announced Wednesday that it is establishing seven state or regional hubs to address shortages in the skilled technical workforce needed by the aerospace and defense industries. SUU will lead Utah’s hub, known as the Utah NASA Aerospace Skilled Technical Workforce Hub, or Utah NASA Hub.

NASA Says The Need for More Aerospace Workers Is Urgent

The initiative is aimed at technical careers that are critical to aerospace but do not necessarily require a four-year college degree. NASA says the expanding space economy and renewed emphasis on human space exploration have created an urgent need for workers with specialized science, engineering and technical skills.

Bill Ingalls/NASA, Getty Images

For Utah, SUU will serve as a coordinator bringing together aerospace employers, educators and workforce agencies to create clearer pathways from high school career and technical education programs to postsecondary training and employment.

That effort will have a direct connection to southern Utah. NASA identifies Iron County School District, Washington County School District and Beaver County as partners in the Utah hub, along with Southwest Technical College, Snow College, Talent Ready Utah, 47G Utah Aerospace and Defense, Northrop Grumman and Utah Space Grant.

The program will build on Utah’s existing Aerospace and Manufacturing Pathways program and will include an Aviation Launchpad initiative featuring “Build, Fix, and Fly” pathways. An Employer Advisory Group will also help ensure that training programs reflect the skills aerospace companies actually need.

Bill Ingalls/NASA, Getty Images

The three-year effort is expected to include hands-on coursework, industry-recognized certifications, employer-validated skill mapping and opportunities for direct job placement. NASA says the Utah hub will engage thousands of students and educators statewide.

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For students in southern Utah, the significance may be that aerospace careers can begin much closer to home than the launch pads and research centers most people associate with NASA.

Mario Tama, Getty Images

The program recognizes that the aerospace workforce needs more than engineers and scientists. Machinists, welders, electricians, technicians and other skilled workers are essential to building and maintaining the equipment that makes space exploration possible.

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With SUU coordinating the effort and school districts in Iron, Washington and Beaver counties participating, NASA’s new initiative could give southern Utah students a clearer look at an industry that increasingly needs exactly the kind of technical skills they can begin developing while still in high school.