Bridging the workforce supply gap is an increasing concern among the geoscience community as our current geoscience professionals approach retirement age. To ensure the sustainability of our future workforce, the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) developed a program called the Preparing our Workforce (POW) Initiative to discuss the diverse career opportunities with geoscience students. These discussion-based, student-led talks bring together geoscience students and working professionals that emphasize the importance of integrating transferrable skills and outside interests to bolster one’s career. Through the Geoscience Online Learning Initiative, (GOLI) sponsored by AGI and the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG), nation-wide implementation is currently underway by employing Moodle to train geoscience professionals to host POW discussions with students in their area. The POW course currently utilizes many of Moodle’s features including video streaming, discussion forums, assessments, databases and restricted access to materials. This talk will address the innovative structure, goals and implementation of the POW Initiative. Additionally, it will discuss future courses in Moodle that will address workforce needs and how to become more formally involved in the POW Initiative.
- American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2013