NETL’s Regional Workforce Initiative (RWFI) will host the 2021 Regional Advanced Manufacturing and Energy (R-AME) Innovation Group summer meeting. This meeting includes stakeholders across Appalachia, including major players in academia and industry to discuss opportunities for strengthening economic & workforce development across the region.

Scheduled for Thursday, July 22, 2021, from 10:00–11:30 a.m. EDT, the R-AME meeting will feature speakers from the University of Pittsburgh, Siemens Corporation, the TEAM consortium, and Catalyst Connection. Together with RWFI, the participants will share their efforts in promoting regional entrepreneurial and technical workforce talent while providing a platform to discuss results-driven solutions. 

NETL strives to serve as a bridge spanning the early stage of science and discovery to the final stage of commercial deployment by the private sector. To this end, RWFI seeks to strengthen, support and promote a regional advanced manufacturing and energy innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem, which will foster new, high- tech and high-earning jobs leading to lasting economic growth for the region. 

During the group’s first year, R-AME connected regional stakeholders to discuss common issues surrounding the maintenance of a regional innovation ecosystem. As R-AME enters its second year, the group will now concentrate on demonstrating different solutions to these issues from the group as well as open dialogue on what can be further done such as improving educational outcomes and workforce training initiatives.

“We took great steps forward in bringing together various partners and stakeholders and identifying the challenges they face in creating the high-paying jobs that help their communities prosper,” said Anthony Armaly, RWFI federal coordinator for NETL. “Now is the time to advance our goals to the next level reviewing steps being taken to accomplish them. By coordinating these quarterly meetings, NETL strives to be a unifying force on large regional collaboration to support advanced manufacturing.”

The meeting will also provide information on NETL's role in the recently announced White House Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization, which works to catalyze economic revitalization across the country in general but especially hard-hit energy communities. 

Attendance for the R-AME Innovation Group webinar is free and open to all but attendees are asked to register in advance.

The NETL RWFI is a platform for engagement and collaboration with stakeholders who are critical for the deployment of energy and advanced manufacturing technological research investments and breakthroughs stemming from the U.S. Department of Energy and NETL. The initiative catalyzes these investments into economic development and workforce/job opportunities for the region and the nation. To date, NETL RWFI has engaged with nearly 700 regional and national individual stakeholders from 377 institutions and organizations across academic, industry, governmental, and non-governmental organizations.

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By leveraging its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.