NFPA Education and Technology Foundation

In a biennial survey, members of the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) consistently rank the recruitment of a skilled workforce as one of the most challenging issues their companies face. This is likely because not enough technical colleges or universities are teaching hydraulics and pneumatics, nor preparing their students for careers in the fluid power industry.

As a result, NFPA has identified growing the fluid power workforce as one of its primary strategic priorities. It is central to its mission of strengthening the fluid power industry. NFPA seeks to increase the number of technical college and university students educated in fluid power, and to connect them to jobs in our industry.

The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation is a tax-exempt, charitable organization, affiliated with NFPA, that is dedicated to meeting this workforce development need. Through the generous support of our donors, we are:

• Creating more educated fluid power technicians, by funding student outreach and education programs, designed to create a pathway into the fluid power industry; and
• Creating more educated fluid power engineers, by funding research and education programs, designed to better engage academic faculty in the teaching of fluid power.

Because of industry support, our programs are helping to change the talent pool available to our industry. More young people are aware of the fluid power industry. More 2-year technical college and 4-year university graduates have specific training in fluid power. More universities have research facilities and education programs focused on fluid power. And more partnerships between these schools and our industry are increasing access to highly talented candidates.