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Building the Modeling and Simulation Work Force
Written by Kenya McCullum
MT2 2009 Volume: 14 Issue: 6 (November/December)
“We cannot survive today without the use of modeling and simulation,” said Fred Lewis, president of the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA). “For example, developing new airplanes, automobiles, transportation systems, financial systems, or even the clothes we wear is all dependent upon modeling and simulation technologies. Just as we are totally dependent on the Internet today, such is the case for modeling and simulation technologies in the United States.”
Although M&S plays such an important role in our lives, this field has not attracted as many quality workers as it should—in part because of the lack of emphasis on math and science in the American educational system. Lewis points out that this is not just an M&S problem; the engineering field as a whole has a deficit of much-needed talent. In fact, the amount of trained engineers to graduate from college in the United States is significantly lagging behind other countries, such as China and India. As a result, many areas of our lives will be affected by the lack of available talent.
“This not only affects the modeling and simulation industry, but it affects every other aspect of American life because there aren’t enough engineers to build airplanes, trains, trucks, or to work on things like water quality and the environment,” said Lewis.
“There aren’t enough engineers to go around to all of the requirements that are necessary to be filled.”
EDUCATION AND THE GROWTH OF THE M&S WORK FORCE
In order to tackle the recruitment and other work force development challenges facing the M&S community, professionals in the field have created programs designed to stimulate interest in the field and support skills-specific education. These efforts go a long way to develop a cadre of life long community members.
NTSA. The NTSA is involved in programs designed to increase awareness and stimulate interest in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. The association’s activities include:
• sponsoring the Interservice Industry Training and Simulation and Education Conference, an event that showcases cutting-edge M&S technologies to over 18,000 attendees each year;
• hosting the Serious Game Showcase & Challenge, a program where young people can enter video games they developed themselves into a contest; and
• creating a scholarship program for students who want to pursue master’s degrees or Ph.D.s in modeling and simulation.
University of Central Florida (UCF). UCF offers advanced degrees in modeling and simulation, which is based on a curriculum that the school developed in conjunction with other institutions. In addition, the school has also created a modeling and simulation management program for students who wish to obtain a master’s degree in this area. The program, which is taught entirely online, takes 18 months to complete and is designed to address the growing need for project management skills in the M&S field.
“Many people in the course of their career are going to manage projects that contain significant software and simulation aspects, but these workers may have little or no experience in project management,” said Randy Shumaker, Ph.D., director of UCF’s Institute for Simulation and Training. “These workers need training on how to manage large, complex, multidisciplinary efforts—skills that they learn from this program.”
U.S. Army PEO STR’s Acquisition Academy. U.S. Army PEO STRI’s Acquisition Academy was created to help new contract specialists understand the relationship between military acquisitions and the end result of simulation technologies. PEO STRI’s efforts are addressing a significant gap in professional development opportunities for individuals contemplating a career in M&S. During this three-month program, interns get to meet the military personnel that benefit from the work that PEO STRI does and learns about the organization’s products, procedures and services.
“This gives new hires an appreciation of how important their work is, so when they’re frustrated in their cubes while trying to get a contract modification through that will result in a trainer going into the field, they will remember the people who need it,” said the program’s dean, Jean Burmester. “This gives employees an appreciation of the complexity of the product.”
WHAT INDUSTRY EXPECTS FROM THE M&S WORK FORCE
When looking for new employees to join the M&S work force, industry leaders want candidates who have a good combination of technical knowledge and strong work abilities. In terms of education, although it’s important to obtain a technical degree, employers actually want workers with well-rounded educational backgrounds.
“M&S is an inherently multidiscipline industry. There is art, science, math, human performance, business, hardware, software, and systems goals that must be integrated and managed for a successful outcome,” said Greg Recker, vice president of engineering at the Raydon Corp. “Specific courses within a discipline are a must; however, in today’s work force there are so many people who have terrible grammar and writing skills. Cell phones, e-mails, and text messages have corrupted many people’s capabilities to the point where they cannot distinguish between professional business conduct and personal chat. Hence, balancing basic knowledge with specifics would be better than stressing any specifics.”
Equally important, noted Recker, are the abilities that workers need in order to successfully contribute to the M&S field.
“From the abilities’ point of view, our employees must exhibit a passion for creativity and problem solving. They must be agile thinkers that know that solving a problem via simulation is not necessarily the same as the solution would be in the real world,” he said. “Folks that work in this arena must also have people skills as we work in an intense team environment with often challenging production schedules.”
In addition, M&S community members with previous operational military experience bring insights into the workplace that are helpful to the industry.
“Someone who has actually been on the battlefield comes to the profession with a view that is incredibly powerful in terms of how simulation can help,” said Nick Giannias, vice president, Research and Technology at Presagis. “Someone coming out of school may be somewhat helpless in terms of applying simulation to an actual requirement.” ♦