Welcome!

We are investigating the ocean sciences, technology, and operations (OSTO) workforce, and the educational system that supports this workforce. Our two-year project will provide analyses and recommendations designed to ensure that the OSTO workforce is capable of meeting the needs of the nation.

NEW

• Article submitted to the ORION Newsletter
• Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (JSOST) releases Ocean Research Priorities Plan and Implementation Strategy
• IOOS Infrastructure Concept Reports

Why do we need to understand the OSTO Workforce?

A number of prior reports have identified significant problems in educating, recruiting, and retaining U.S. workers for scientific, technological, and operational. Such workers are critical for operating much of the nation's infrastructure, and for sustaining growth and innovation. The lack of appropriately educated workers is especially pronounced in rapidly evolving ocean-related fields, such as ocean exploration, ocean engineering, and the management and use of ocean resources.

	Student intern preparing a CTD cast.

This project focuses on retaining U.S. workers for scientific, technological, and operational occupations, but also examines related sectors of the ocean economy that require similar knowledge and skill sets (KSS), such as the oil and gas industry, telecommunications, navigation, hydrographic surveying, ocean engineering, and basic and applied ocean research. We will begin our investigation by focusing on the Ocean Observing System (OOS).

Examining the OOS workforce will provide insights about many challenges facing the broader ocean workforce. OSS are complex, rapidly evolving scientific, technological, and operational systems . The workforce required to design, build and operate these systems embodies a wide range of KSS in such areas as: instrument and platform design, construction, and operation; data management and analysis; and scientific experimentation.

In this project, we will examine the major factors that affect the supply of and demand for OSTO workers. We will also assess the education of the OSTO workforce, including formal education and education within the workplace. We will draw on lessons learned from analyses of the workforces for related sectors of the economy that are undergoing rapid changes and increasing pressures from globalization. The results of our analyses will be used to:

• identify the most probable scenarios for the evolution of the OSTO workforce
• recommend methods for monitoring and predicting this evolution on a continuing basis
• identify the educational practices that appear to be best suited for supporting this evolution
• propose methods for testing and monitoring the effectiveness of OSTO educational programs