Workers once considered to have sufficient skills for lifetime employment are now finding they must learn new skills and processes to sustain their employment in an increasingly technological work environment. The growing importance of computer-aided design, computer integrated manufacturing, total quality management, and just-in-time production requires a skilled workforce. This need is reflected in the evolution of industrial education and training in the United States and Canada. From the uneducated factory wage earner to the skilled worker, industrial education has switched its focus to developing the more highly educated technical employee of the modern era.

In recent years, technological innovation has fostered considerable change in manufacturing processes relating to production quality and cost. The internationalization of production and markets has also intensified competition, resulting in significant automation and an increase in the use of computer-related technology. Technological growth has also raised the level of training required for the existing workforce and new entrants. One-fourth to nearly half of manufacturing industries including fabricated metals, industrial machinery, electronic equipment and instruments and transportation equipment manufacturing now use computer-aided design and computer-aided engineering in their overall operations. A slightly smaller percentage of these industries use computer-controlled technology actually on the factory floor. More than 30 percent of high school graduates and 60 percent of college graduates use computers in their jobs.

Part of your industrial education will invariably involve learning about the operation of industrial tools and machines. Whether it is an electrical, agriculture, mining, or automotive degree, your education will involve the use of a tool or machine. You will be given the skills and knowledge to operate all kinds of tools including everything from hand, air to machine tools. From impact wrenches to the operation of heavy equipment such as earth movers, loaders, tractors, etc, you will be given the skills used across the spectrum in a variety of industries from mining, logging, agriculture, gas processing, oilfield servicing to plastics, process and construction.

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Below are more details about some select schools offering industrial degrees: