The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Championship, 22-25 April 2015

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA (14 April 2015) - More than 17,000 young people (ages 6-18) from around the world will gather in St. Louis, Missouri next week to enter robots theyve built in fun-filled, exciting competitions that celebrate excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), innovative thinking, and teamwork.

The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Championship, 22-25 April 2015, culminates months of planning, inventiveness and qualifying competitions in a high-tech spectator event designed to inspire more young people to become science and technology leaders and foster self-confidence, goodwill and a collaborative spirit among the participants.

As strategic alliance partners of FIRST, the International Society of Automation (ISA) and its umbrella organization, the Automation Federation, actively support FIRSTs educational programs and mission, and encourage more young people to pursue careers that fully utilize their STEM skills and interests.

Practicing automation professionals will be available to answer
questions about the automation profession and engineering careers

A select group of practicing automation professionals---volunteering on behalf of ISA and the Automation Federation—will be present at the ISA/Automation Federation exhibit (#702) to meet with FIRST competitors and their family members, and answer any questions they may have about career opportunities in automation and engineering. Scheduled to appear are:

* Steve Pflantz, Associate, CRB Consulting Engineers, Inc.
* Carrie Tietjen - Process Automation Consultant, Experitec, Inc.
* Cory Kniepp - Sr. District Sales Manager Central Plains Region, Emerson Industrial Automation, ASCO Numatics
* Nick Ericson - Sales Representative, Instrumentation & Controls, Mead OBrien
* Michael Unterreiner - Sr. Process Specialist, Emerson Industrial Automation, ASCO Numatics
* Gregg Dougan - Account Manager, Experitec, Inc.

"I invite all FIRST competitors—and really all those attending the FIRST Championship—to come by our exhibit and learn about the many rewarding, exciting and well-paying careers in automation and engineering," says Steven Pflantz, an electrical and automation engineer and ISA and Automation Federation leader who has attended and supported all four FIRST Championship events held in St. Louis. "Youll find out what automation really is all about, what an automation professional really does, and discover the best educational and training paths to follow in order to become one.

"Youll get direct insights—first hand, from working professionals in the field—about what automation jobs are really like. Who better to talk about these types of careers than the people who are actually in them?"

Plantz, who serves as Chair of the Automation Federation Workforce Development Committee, has long worked with ISA and the Automation Federation to raise awareness among lawmakers in Washington, D.C., and industry leaders on the importance of automation and the need to train and educate more automation professionals.

In simple terms, automation professionals create and apply technology to monitor the control and production of goods and services. Automation professionals are needed in virtually all areas of manufacturing and industrial innovation, including:

* Oil, wind, and solar power production
* Pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing
* Food and beverage manufacturing
* Computer software and networking
* Industrial cybersecurity
* Government, military, and national defense
* NASA and space programs
* Automotive industry, including the racing industry
* Amusement parks and roller coaster design

The need for automation professionals far outpaces available supply;
career options in industrial cybersecurity are particularly bright

The time is right and employment trends are favorable for students interested in careers in automation and engineering. The reason? Demand for qualified employees in these fields far outstrips availability.

For example, the manufacturing-sector in the US employs nearly 12 million people (the equivalent of 1 in 6 private sector jobs) and supports almost 5 million more jobs. However, five percent of manufacturing jobs remain unfilled due to a lack of skilled candidates. By one estimate, the US alone will need more than 120 million workers with advanced manufacturing skills by 2020. At the current pace, America will prepare less than half of that number.

"The good news for young people who are capable in STEM is that there are a lot of career options relating to automation," reports Pflantz. "These are well-paying careers that are very rewarding. They give young people the opportunity to invent, explore and create new ways of making our economy, our society, our world better."

Career opportunities for graduates seeking careers in industrial cybersecurity are particularly bright.

Unlike information technology (IT) cybersecurity that protects, for instance, credit card data from being stolen, industrial cybersecurity defends critical infrastructure—such as such as power plants, utilities, transportation networks, water and wastewater treatment facilities—from being damaged and disabled.

The industrial automation and control systems (IACS) that operate these plants and facilities are highly susceptible to cyberwarfare. A cyberattack can shut down and severely disrupt safe plant and facility operations, putting the environment and economy as well as lives in jeopardy.

ISA has been at the vanguard of the industrial cybersecurity movement. It has developed internationally recognized security standards (ISA/IEC-62443) proven to prevent potentially devastating cyber damage to the IACS and networks that operate these essential plants and facilities.

For more information on possible careers in automation, including industrial cybersecurity, please contact: Pflantz at steven.pflantz@crbusa.com or by calling +1 314-372-3211; or Michael Marlowe, Managing Director and Director of Government Relations at the Automation Federation, at mmarlowe@automationfederation.org or by calling +1 919-314-3937.

About the Automation Federation
The Automation Federation is a global umbrella organization of sixteen (16) member organizations and six working groups engaged in automation activities. The Automation Federation enables its members to more effectively fulfill their missions, advance the science and engineering of automation technologies and applications, and develop the workforce needed to capitalize on the benefits of automation. The Automation Federation is the "Voice of Automation." For more information about the Automation Federation, visit www.automationfederation.org.

About ISA
The International Society of Automation (www.isa.org) is a nonprofit professional association that sets the standard for those who apply engineering and technology to improve the management, safety, and cybersecurity of modern automation and control systems used across industry and critical infrastructure. Founded in 1945, ISA develops widely used global standards; certifies industry professionals; provides education and training; publishes books and technical articles; hosts conferences and exhibits; and provides networking and career development programs for its 36,000 members and 350,000 customers around the world.

ISA owns Automation.com, a leading online publisher of automation-related content, and is the founding sponsor of The Automation Federation (www.automationfederation.org), an association of non-profit organizations serving as "The Voice of Automation." Through a wholly owned subsidiary, ISA bridges the gap between standards and their implementation with the ISA Security Compliance Institute (www.isasecure.org) and the ISA Wireless Compliance Institute (www.isa100wci.org).