What’s in this page for you?

Introduction

The bedrock of our BUILD International strategy includes many critical areas of concern. For LATAM, these areas of concern are focused on the supply chain, access to lower cost goods, regional/local workforce stability, and improved political relationships. Importantly, emphasis in these critical areas supports both LATAM and U.S. national interests.

Areas of Emphasis

Secure the Supply Chain: Better engineers in Latin America means increased low-cost production capacities. This in turn allows us to reduce reliance on overseas manufacturing which is inherently vulnerable to shifting international relations. Latin America, and in particular, the countries north of the Darien Gap, the one break in the Pan-American highway, stand as a ready solution to this problem. Furthermore, increased Latin American manufacturing insulates us from problems occurring thousands of miles from our shores.

Sustained Access to Lower Cost Goods: Our economy relies heavily on US consumers’ ability to leverage the benefits of low cost of manufacturing abroad. The close proximity of Latin American countries and relatively low labor costs will allow this to continue, while also taking advantage of reduced shipping times, relatively low expenses, and reduced national security risks.  

Stability of Regional/Local Workforce: Addressing the Migrant Crisis from Latin American countries requires improving economic conditions in the region.  Buying goods manufactured in American developing countries rather than sending our dollars overseas means increased stability and prosperity in our backyard.  Traveling thousands of miles to reach the US southern border is a massive and dangerous undertaking, which individuals are less likely to attempt if they have opportunities in their home countries.  By creating viable economic alternatives, workers will have better options to support themselves and their families versus fleeing to the United States.

Improved Political Relationships: The inconsistency of U.S. relations with Latin American countries under various U.S. administrations has made us appear an increasingly unreliable partner to leaders in the region.  Despite this, the people of Latin America still feel a deep cultural connection to the U.S., and many view us as their protector.  Recognizing that the unipolar moment has ended, it is crucial that we begin to foster better relationships with these countries.  Competitors like China have been making inroads into the global south by investing in infrastructure, and we should learn from their success.  For now, the people of Latin America still largely prefer the US as a leader on the global stage, but we cannot expect this to last without changes in our approach.  Implementing the BUILD program in these countries will allow us to foster a deep relationship between the engineers of the U.S. and Latin America by “teaching our neighbor to fish” through guidance and partnership with U.S. mentors.

BUILD Foundation Programs

We propose two BUILD Foundation programs that accomplish the goal of preparing the workforce quickly, while developing a sustainable and well-trained workforce going forward.

BUILD Workforce Program: This accelerated program is intended to provide new skills and capabilities to an existing workforce, while simultaneously training a cadre of mentors who will serve in the university program.

BUILD University Program: A four-year university program which will graduate engineers prepared for the modern workforce.

BUILD Workforce

The components of both programs are the same, differing only in their implementation timeframe.  BUILD Workforce compresses the four-year BUILD University program into a six-month timeframe for engineers who have already completed their studies.  Mentors from the first iterations are then able to assist in establishing the BUILD University program, which takes engineering students through the four-year program as part of their studies.  Both programs will be tailored to facilitate the type of manufacturing in Latin America, and to accommodate the local economies’ industrial needs.  

The program components work together to provide students with powerful individual skills.  Practical application of skills in a diverse, multidisciplinary team environment has proven to be an effective method of instruction in a variety of environments. The model engages students early in team projects involving all engineering disciplines, while also engaging in independent classroom and hands-on learning environments.

Program Implementation

Combining the highly successful training methodologies the BUILD Foundation personnel have executed over the last 20 years with our experience preparing new engineers for the workforce has positioned us to fully prepare a diverse workforce for modern sophisticated environments.  Implementing this will require appropriate facilities, personnel, and integration planning.

Facilities: Purpose-built facilities will be integrated with our rapid workforce development and mentor training facilities to allow for both collaborative and focused trade-specific learning.  Two types of facilities will need to be built and staffed:  

Regional Training Site. These sites will rapidly prepare the workforce through the BUILD Workforce program.  They will be established to provide accelerated training of the existing workforce, and mentor training to supply qualified instructors/mentors into the BUILD University program.

University Facilities. These facilities will leverage existing university infrastructure to the extent possible.  They will be fully equipped laboratories with all necessary equipment and teaching tools to carry out the BUILD University program. 

Curriculum Development: The curriculum will be designed to align with local standards while incorporating advanced learning objectives to meet modern manufacturing needs.  It will largely mirror the U.S. BUILD University program in content, but modifications will be made to accommodate local and national goals and requirements.  

Mentor Training: Building a talented mentor cadre is a key component of this program.  The regional training facilities will be dedicated to training mentors who will foster a real-world learning environment with contemporary projects and concepts that are applicable to their current work in their respective industries.  Mentors are experts actively working in industry, recruited and trained by the BUILD Foundation, thus maintaining relevance to the present needs of the market.  These mentors are crucial to the successful workforce preparation.  

Resource Acquisition: Successful implementation of these programs depends on funding and resources for equipment, materials, facilities, and technology tools necessary for the hands-on projects and activities.  For the program to thrive, investment from both the Latin American countries and the U.S. is essential. Any Latin American country choosing to take part should expect to contribute half of the needed financial resources.  A partnership with the U.S. to provide the other half would ensure commitment and longevity.  The goals in Latin America are the same as the U.S. BUILD programs, in that a five-year transition from government funding to private corporate sponsorship is the goal.  

Partnerships and Collaboration: We will forge partnerships with industry partners, trade schools, manufacturing plants, and community stakeholders to enhance students’ learning experiences, and to provide pathways to employment and/or advancement opportunities.  In Latin America, the intention is to leverage local industries to supply mentors. The program’s technical goals will be influenced by the local economy in order to help revitalize these localities, while also benefiting U.S. manufacturing needs.  Incorporating local industries provides a rich recruiting ground for needed talent.  

Assessment and Evaluation:  The BUILD programs will implement assessment tools to measure students’ progress, engagement, and achievement of learning outcomes.  Continuing evaluation of course content, mentor performance, and relevance will be monitored to make appropriate modifications.  Student feedback and evaluations by industry partners hiring graduates of the program will be key to this process.  Our past experience has shown that these two feedback mechanisms are very effective tools for program growth and improvement.  

Pilot Launch in Panama

Our plan involves a twelve-month period to initiate one regional training center in Panama. We chose Panama for several reasons.  The Republic of Panama has a special relationship with the United States, dating back to its separation from Colombia and establishment as an independent state.  For many years the U.S. directly controlled the canal zone and maintained a significant presence in the country, but even after transferring control to the Panamanians, Panama remains a very “Americanized” country with the USD as its currency, and close political and cultural ties to the U.S. With around 4.5 million Panamanians, it is a small country, with a majority of its population living in the modern metropolis of Panama City.  Compared to its neighbors in Central and South America, Panama is known for being very safe and politically stable, largely due to influence by the U.S. in the interest of maintaining security of the Canal.  Additionally, Panama boasts strong logistics and transportation infrastructure, making it a hub for international trade.  A small, stable country with a friendly relationship with the U.S. and a cultural connection to engineering, thanks to the canal, makes it an ideal entry point into the Latin American market.  Finally, in addition to its easy access to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Panama’s location north of the Darien Gap allows goods to be shipped directly by truck to North America.

History and geography alone make Panama an attractive location for the program, but these are not the only beneficial factors. Recently, education has emerged as a major political topic in the country, and there is a widespread desire to improve the university system. Recent elections have resulted in many young Panamanians, some with significant technological backgrounds, acquiring positions of influence, many of them are using the term “the new Silicon Valley” in their campaigns and political discourse.

Panama and its neighbor Costa Rica have also been identified as attractive locations to develop semiconductor manufacturing.  On April 30, 2024, Panama established the Commission for Innovation in Microchips and Semiconductors in order to pave the way to accomplish this, and has yet to name officials to serve on the Committee.  In order for these efforts to be successful, Panama will need access to a steady supply of highly skilled engineers able to meet the needs of this industry.  

In addition to this burgeoning tech industry, the Panama Canal also has a constant and ever-growing need for qualified engineers in order to maintain what is one of the great engineering marvels of the world.  Crises such as those relating to droughts and water levels have led to delays and supply chain bottlenecks in recent years, highlighting the importance of a smoothly operating waterway.  By increasing the quality and capability of the engineers being produced in this region, BUILD would help ensure such problems are being solved by the most competent people possible. This regional BUILD center will train our mentor staff along with local industry partners.  Simultaneously, we will identify a university partner and build a teaching environment leveraging local resources and university infrastructure with the purpose of launching the first university program in 2026.  As BUILD University comes online, we will be graduating our first set of mentors and engineering professionals ready for the workforce.  

Similar to our past experience in creating these learning environments, we will organize the rapid build-out of these classrooms and design spaces to meet learning objectives.  The goal is to implement the BUILD Workforce program first to train newly graduated engineers and future BUILD University mentors. Based on our successful execution in the past, these communities will interact throughout their learning experience in facilities established to accomplish this goal. Curriculum development, recruiting/hiring, and mentor training will be done simultaneously.

Conclusion

The COVID pandemic and the global unrest over the past several years highlights our need for a more secure supply chain.  Although improving the training of U.S. engineers is a vital step, we remain reliant on low-cost overseas production for many products.  Much of this production occurs within the sphere of influence of the U.S.’s primary rival on the global stage, China, raising serious national security concerns and potential supply chain challenges.  

By investing in improving the production capabilities of engineers in Latin America, the U.S. can help ensure that these products are being made much closer to home.  Diversifying our supply chain across partners with whom we have an active role in building their manufacturing focus and infrastructure is a healthy and stabilizing strategy.   Improving the manufacturing capabilities of our neighbors to the south provides insulation against the geopolitical fluctuations and invests our dollars in our American neighbors.  Furthermore, the economic conditions in many of these countries is an exacerbating factor in the current Migrant Crisis.  By improving manufacturing capabilities in these communities, we address the root cause of the illness rather than just reacting to symptoms, and potentially bring more stability to our continent.  

Implementing the BUILD programs will involve U.S. engineers and industry leaders along with Latin American partnerships in tailoring the training necessary to best accomplish our shared goals.

Summary: What’s in this page for you?

If you are part of the Latin America BUILD program, you will become an engineer fully ready for the workforce with experience interacting with both Latin American countries and U.S. based engineering and manufacturing. The BUILD Foundation’s innovative Workforce and University programs will empower Latin American engineers with cutting-edge skills, ensuring a robust, secure supply chain and fostering prosperity across the region. Also, a strong strategic partnership with the U.S. will improve security and provide greater stability to the region.