IEEE Young Professionals Tackle Skills Gap in Tech

The report America’s Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age, released last year by the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Education and Labor, identified a significant engineering and skills gap. The 27-page report concludes that talent shortages in critical areas, including advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and cybersecurity, pose significant risks to U.S. economic and technological leadership.

To help attract talent in these fields, the Department of Labor last month introduced incentives for apprenticeships, including a $145 million “pay for performance” grant program. The funding aims to develop registered apprenticeships in areas of high demand, including artificial intelligence and information technology.

In response to the urgent national need for targeted workforce development, members of the IEEE Young Professionals, led by Alok Tibrewala, a senior member of the IEEE. He is co-chair of the IEEE North Jersey Section Young Professionals Group.

“As a software engineer, this looming shortage concerns me because I believe the AI ​​and cybersecurity skills gap in the U.S. would appear first early in a career,” Tibrewala said. “Students will enter the U.S. workforce without sufficient hands-on experience building secure AI-driven enterprise and cloud systems, and this gap will persist without hands-on training from a mentor before graduation. »

Tibrewala led a strategic planning session with representatives from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, IEEE Members and Geographic Activities, and IEEE Young Professionals to discuss hosting an event that would provide practical, industry-relevant training from IEEE experts and leaders.

“I was able to partner with NJIT, recruit speakers, design the event agenda, and promote the event to ensure it was aligned with the strategy outlined in the workforce report,” he says. “This effort aligns with broader U.S. workforce development priorities focused on industry-focused job training in critical technology areas.”

The IEEE Buildathon event was held on November 1 at NJIT’s Newark campus. More than 30 students and early career engineers heard from 11 speakers. Through interactive workshops, live demonstrations and networking opportunities, they left with practical employer-relevant skills and clearer career paths for upskilling in the AI ​​era.

Tibrewala chaired the event and also chairs the IEEE Buildathon program.

Takeaways from the session

Region 1 Director Bala S. Prasanna, Senior Life Member, delivered the opening address. He highlighted the need for universities, industry practitioners and IEEE volunteer leaders to collaborate on programs to improve technical skills.

Kalyani Matey, IEEE Fellow and IEEE North Jersey Section Young Professionals Co-Chair, led a workshop on how to build your personal brand and a responsive network. Participants received valuable information on creating resumes, effective communication strategies, and improving their visibility and employability.

“Over time, this type of structured, employer-friendly training will help increase confidence, employability and technical readiness across the country. With sustained support, programs like the IEEE Buildathon can become a practical bridge between education and industry in the age of AI.” —Alok Tibrewala

Tibrewala led the session Unlocking the Potential of AI: Solving Big Challenges with Smart Data and the IEEE Dataport. The DataPort web platform allows researchers to store, share, access and manage their research datasets in a single, trusted location. He discussed the skills needed, including mastering AI, rigorous data management and managing datasets, and transforming data into actionable insights.

Chaitali Ladikkar, Senior Software Engineer, delivered the insightful Brains Behind the Game seminar. IEEE member Ladikkar highlighted the transformative impact of AI on gaming and game engine technologies. She discussed how AI is reshaping game development. She also explained how machine learning is used for animation, generating content faster, and testing new titles. His seminar received enthusiastic feedback from participants.

The Building Better Business Relations DiSC workshop provided information on improving professional relationships and communication within an engineering workforce. DiSC is a behavioral self-assessment used to understand an individual’s communication style and adapt to others.

Experience and testimonials from participants

The event received widespread praise from attendees for its practical and industry-relevant content, according to Tibrewala.

“This training significantly enhanced my understanding and preparation for roles in industry, filling gaps that my regular academic courses had not fully filled,” said Humna Sultan, IEEE Student Member and senior computer science student at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey.

“The Buildathon was structured around real engineering challenge scenarios that deepened my understanding of AI and cloud technologies,” said Carlos Figueredo, an IEEE graduate student studying data science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. “It has boosted my self-confidence and practical skills essential to the industry.”

Bavani Karthikeyan Janaki said, “It was amazing to see how technology and sustainability came together to create real impact, thanks to the dedicated efforts of the organizers, including Tibrewala, Matey and the young professionals at IEEE North Jersey. Janaki is pursuing a master’s degree in computer and information science at Long Island University, New York.

Funding and Collaborative Efforts

The Buildathon was made possible by grants from the IEEE Young Professionals Group and funding from the IEEE North Jersey Section and IEEE Members and Geographic Activities. Their support demonstrates how IEEE professional organizations can collaborate to address workforce needs by supporting the delivery of technical sessions that strengthen early career pipelines.

Future plans and call to action

Building on the success of the event, Tibrewala and Matey plan to make the IEEE Buildathon an ongoing initiative. They are exploring ways to expand it to other college campuses and IEEE communities.

Tibrewala says they plan to refine the format based on participant feedback and lessons learned. To ensure consistent quality, he and Matey say they are working on a handbook for organizers that will include a reproducible agenda, workshop template, speaker guidelines and post-event feedback forms.

The approach depends on ongoing coordination between host universities, local IEEE chapters and young professional volunteers, Tibrewala says.

“Allowing other groups to host similar events,” he says, “can help more students and early-career engineers gain hands-on exposure to AI, data, cloud, cybersecurity, and other key emerging technologies in a structured setting.”

“Efforts like this help translate national workforce priorities into real training that students and early-career engineers can immediately apply to their projects. It also helps close the gap between classroom learning and the realities of building secure, reliable systems in production environments. Over time, this type of structured, employer-friendly training will help increase confidence, employability and technical readiness across the country.

“With sustained support, programs like the IEEE Buildathon can become a practical bridge between education and industry in the AI ​​era.”