TRAINING & EDUCATION
Curriculum • Instruction • Workforce Development
Curriculum
Drone operators need to know more than how to press the shutter button.
We take a pragmatic approach to drone training. For example, we believe that drone operators should know the basic principles of photography, camera settings, and sensor equipment first, followed by training for specific applications.
We develop curriculum in-house, drawing from team members and industry contacts. We use it to train our own personnel and in classes we offer clients. Our curriculum and instructors are also available to academic institutions and workforce development programs.
Our Five Levels of Training
Instruction
Our experienced classroom teachers and field instructors prepare students for sustainable professional careers at either our locations/events or through our educational partners. We provide instructors and instructional support to interested academic institutions.
But there is much more to preparing stakeholders for the emerging drone ecosystem. Every paper we write, photograph we take, and news article becomes usable content. Indeed, we leverage all content that illuminates the dynamic world of unmanned systems - curriculum and lesson plans, on-site demonstrations, presentations at professional events, news articles, and much more – to better serve our clients.
Our Five Content Sharing Categories
Workforce Development
Disruptive Innovation is the decline or displacement of one or more existing markets by a new technology, service, or idea (for example, smart phones disrupted low-end cameras). This often results in dramatic employment shifts and reduced revenues in the disrupted market(s).
Soon, autonomous trucks will be in widespread use. What will happen to America's 3.5 million truck drivers?
Workforce Development is an integrated set of strategies and services such as understanding employer needs, preparing workers to meet those needs now and in the future, promoting workplace learning, and establishing sustainable career paths.
Innovative regional public-private workforce development programs are changing the way workers prepare for careers.
Drone skills are becoming essential for many jobs
- Skyward reports that 1 in 10 companies with revenues greater than $50 million already use drone services. 40% of companies that use drones report their drone programs have at least 25 employees. Another 10% of $50+ million companies expect to add drone services in the near future.
- Skylogic Research found that 67% of companies use in-house drone services and another 23% utilize a mix of in-house and outsourced drone support. Only 10% of companies outsource all drone service.
Business preference to use their own employees for drone operations suggests a growing need for company-based, application-specific drone training and support. The term “drone pilot” more likely refers to a job responsibility than a full-time job. Consequently (1) existing employees assigned drone responsibilities will likely need training, and (2) unemployed workers who receive drone training will have marketable new skills that attract employers.
We assist workforce development programs in these ways:
- Advise workforce development leaders on how drones/sensors/data benefit businesses and how businesses adopt the technology. We help identify regional industries and specific companies they can approach.
- Collaborate with workforce development staff to survey and assess existing drone programs and expertise, help companies recognize drone services that best suit their needs (key uses), and identify specific jobs that require newly trained workforces.
- Prepare customized instruction focused on specific drone skills in demand by employers.
- Ensure workers gain meaningful experience with the drones and drone-skills, either in their workplace or with our drone teams, that prepare them for sustainable career paths.