COLUMBIA, South Carolina, March 3, 2026 — SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), an internationally ranked architecture and engineering firm, announced today that two of its education and workforce development subject matter experts—Adriane McGillis, AIA, NCARB and Tim Swartz, AIA, NCARB (pictured below)—will speak, sponsor, and exhibit at the SC Tri‑Association of Facility Managers Conference, taking place March 8–11, 2026, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Capital investments in education are long‑term decisions, with implications that extend for generations. As engineering technology programs continue to evolve alongside the industry, institutions are increasingly challenged to ensure that today’s facility decisions remain relevant, adaptable, and effective for decades, meeting the advancements of today’s modern landscape and the future’s.
The SSOE expert’s session, “The New Wave of Engineering Technology: At the Crossroads of Active Learning and Advanced Manufacturing,” will take place Tuesday, March 9, from 2:00–2:55 p.m. and will focus on the critical question plaguing current education leaders: how do education leaders and facility managers ensure their facilities are ready to meet the challenge of a rapidly evolving workforce landscape due to artificial intelligence and automation.
Workforce development facilities are legacy investments, but the industries and technologies they support will change many times over. At the current pace, AI and automation are causing real, effective change in the workplace every 3 to 6 months. The challenge now is designing spaces that can educate successive generations of students while remaining adaptable to evolving workforce practices, instructional models, and industry expectations. As workforce technology programs expand and become more closely integrated with the industry, the physical spaces that support instruction play a critical role in long‑term program performance.
With more than two million square feet of workforce development and training center design experience, SSOE’s industrial and education planning experts know how to deliver facilities that support sustained program performance, adaptability, and long‑term institutional value. Through technical college and higher education case studies, SSOE’s team will examine how lab configuration, infrastructure capacity, equipment planning, and shared industry environments influence how effectively programs function over time. The session will highlight how intentional facility planning can create continuity between academic objectives and real‑world production contexts. Attendees will gain insight into how deliberate, future‑focused investment in education environments can help institutions create facilities that remain functional, adaptable, and aligned with industry partnership goals well beyond initial construction.
For more information about the SC Tri‑Association Conference and this session, visit:
https://triassociation-conference.scappa.org/session/the-new-wave-of-engineering-technology-at-the-crossroads-of-active-learning-and-advanced-manufacturing/