NASA\u2019s Seam Innovation Challenge<\/a>, highlight the university\u2019s early momentum in this space.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cOver the past year, our work with AFFOA, the development of the TACTIC initiative, and our internal investments in textile testing and soft-goods engineering have put TCU on the national radar,\u201d said Charles Freeman, professor, department chair, and associate dean of research in TCU\u2019s College of Fine Arts. \u201cTACTIC and our work with AFFOA help position TCU as a leader in training the next generation of soft-good engineers and scientists for the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senior AFFOA leadership, including CEO Sasha Stolyarov and Workforce Development Director Robert Finnegan, were on TCU\u2019s campus in March to finalize the partnership, tour research labs and engage with regional industry partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTexas is a critical region for U.S. manufacturing, especially in textiles and advanced materials. The TACTIC program at TCU will significantly impact the area by equipping the next generation of workers with the skills and education needed to build successful careers in manufacturing,\u201d said Stolyarov. \u201cWe look forward to ongoing collaboration with TCU and to addressing the industry\u2019s pressing gaps to strengthen American manufacturing resiliency.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Workforce Model Built for the Nation\u2019s Needs
In a nationwide manufacturing needs assessment conducted by AFFOA with U.S. manufacturers, a common challenge emerged: an aging workforce and a widening gap in the skilled talent pipeline, with particular urgency in key regions such as Texas. This positions TCU and Fort Worth as an emerging hub for advanced materials innovation and workforce development aligned with national defense and aerospace priorities.<\/p>\n
TACTIC introduces a scalable, industry-aligned credentialing framework that creates accessible entry points into high-demand fields, including:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Positioning TCU at the Center of Advanced Textiles InnovationThe TACTIC workforce initiative reflects TCU\u2019s growing leadership at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":{"0":"post-269428","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-fort-worth","9":"tag-fort-worth-headlines","10":"tag-fort-worth-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}