Forward-thinking technology and component manufacturers are shaping their future workforce with direct involvement in educating the next generation. Festo Didactic, the technical education arm of Festo, started its Mechatronics Apprenticeship Program (MAP) to address the workforce skills gap in advanced manufacturing. MAP graduates can now earn 20 credits toward an automation and control technology with robotics associate of applied science degree from Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.
Students gain critical on-the-job skills, while earning college credit. After the MAP program, students need only 40 additional credit hours to earn the associate degree, which reduces the tuition cost by 30%.
Festo Didactic designed MAP to help apprentices earn while they learn advanced manufacturing skills in mechatronics. Apprentices work four days a week with an employer and spend one day at the Festo Learning Center in Mason, Ohio, for hands-on training. MAP accepts apprenticeships on a rolling admission basis instead of a semester schedule. The program consists of 57 weeks of training, aimed at enrolling and training apprentices faster and getting them to work.
“The partnership with Sinclair Community College brings a new dimension to the professionalism and earning power of students interested in fulfilling careers in manufacturing,” said Karolyn Ellingson, head of industrial workforce development at Festo Didactic.
“This innovative partnership with Festo will strengthen the workforce pipeline by providing the exceptional education and on-the-job training students need for lucrative, rewarding careers in advanced manufacturing,” said Madeline Iseli, senior vice president advancement and regional strategy at Sinclair Community College.
Sinclair’s automation and control technology with robotics associate degree, offered at its Dayton and Mason campuses, provides electrical and mechanical education and training in developing, installing, programming and troubleshooting modern manufacturing machinery. It is training the next generation of electronic engineering technicians, industrial maintenance technicians, robotics technicians, system integrators and supply chain technicians.
