Space Workforce 2.0

There are many reasons to be thinking about workforce issues in space and high technology.
The ransition from the shuttle era to the next space access era, which is still under construction.
A robust arrival of proactive Gen Y folks to the space table.
The much talked about (is it really true?) retirement of the leading edge Boomers.
Last but not least, the retooling of the economic base from extractive+oil to green, clean and renewable energy.

These evolutions and profound revolutions are intersecting other issues, such as women, minority representation, and age/generational issues in the current and emerging space and high tech workforce.

Chuck Devine discussed these questions and more at Independent Broad Minded Centerist. Thanks to NASAwatch for posting his comments in the Gen Y thread there.

"In September 2007 Claudia Morrell, Executive Director of the Center for Women and Information Technology of the University of Maryland Baltimore County gave a talk to the committee leading the Aerospace Initiative of the Governor's Workforce Investment Board in the State of Maryland. During her talk she emphasized three reasons why young women were not pursuing careers in technology:

• They disliked the work-life balance common in technology fields.
  
• They thought the work was boring.
  
• They were familiar with managers in their 30s and 40s who were extraordinarily poor leaders who not only did harm to their groups but also to the careers and lives of young people coming into their fields.
  

She noted that when these issues were successfully addressed, that young women – as well as young men – were far more likely to choose work in technology.

These findings echo what I have heard in other forums as well. In July at a NewSpace meeting organized by Space Frontier Foundation Loretta Whitesides commented how the generation born after Apollo did not share the memories of older people involved in aerospace. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin might vividly remember John Glenn's orbital flight. Some one born after the last Apollo mission in 1972 will remember the Challenger tragedy instead. She also commented that they were looking for leadership that listened and was open to new ideas. The fact that NASA does not have that reputation any more is a major criticism.

Mary Lynne Dittmar has done extensive research in how the public thinks about NASA. She has delivered papers at conferences such as Space 2006, organized by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and written articles such as Sustaining exploration: communications, relevance, and value (Part 1) and Part 2. In her ...MORE, go to headline."