Since the ATE program began in 1992 with an act of Congress, initiatives with two-year college educators in leadership roles have been developing answers to questions such as
How can current and future technicians learn the technical skills and soft skills they
need to know to succeed in modern workplaces?
What are the skills that technicians need to know to help the U.S. compete in global
markets?
What can be done to encourage students’ interest in technology careers?
What are the most effective means of updating technicians’ skills for new
technologies and informing teachers about emerging fields?
What are the best ways to prepare current and future teachers to integrate STEM
subjects into their curriculum in order to educate students more thoroughly?

Through ATE’s competitive grant process, the National Science Foundation provides seed money to innovative educators so they can develop and test their ideas for improving the education of technicians and the educators who teach them. The NSF provides two types of support: ATE project grants and ATE center grants.

ATE project grants focus on specific ways to enhance technician education, teacher education, technical expertise, students’ laboratory experiences, and applied research. Projects use multifaceted approaches to add rigor to STEM courses, infuse industry standards and workplace competencies in classroom instruction, and provide professional development to educators.

ATE centers have broader missions as change agents in their fields. ATE centers, the flagships of the ATE program, have strong connections with regional and national employers of technicians.
The programs they have developed with colleagues in secondary schools and universities are models that others can use to respond more effectively to local, regional, and national economic and educational challenges.