PMMI announces that its Mechatronics Certificate Program has been added to The Manufacturing Institute’s Manufacturing Skills Certification Systems (SCS) offerings. The Manufacturing Institute is an affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).
The Mechatronics Certificate Program is the result of a partnership between PMMI, the Mid-Atlantic Mechatronics Advisory Council, and several packaging and technical schools. To date, three programs have been launched: Introduction to Industrial Electricity, Introduction to Mechanical Components and the newest, launched at PACK EXPO Las Vegas in September, Introduction to PLCs. Plans are to provide tests in four key areas: mechanical, electrical, controls and computer science.
In 2009, PMMI’s skill standards for mechatronics were added to the Competency Model Clearinghouse of the U.S. Department of Labor (US DOL). Mechatronics is defined as the synergistic application of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, control engineering, and computer science in the manufacturing environment. It is a skill and knowledge set used by mechatronics engineering technicians to assure the automation that drives modern manufacturing delivers its potential for higher productivity and output.
The Manufacturing Institute established SCS to develop the nation’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)-capable workforce for advanced manufacturing. Among the goals of the partnership with PMMI are:
- To align these nationally portable, industry-recognized credentials with educational curricula and pathways in grades K-12, and in community colleges’ and four-year colleges’ programs of study, that lead to high-wage, high-growth technical careers
- To provide information on these educational pathways that leads to advanced manufacturing or automation career pathways, to help connect students and workers to lifelong learning and advancement opportunities
- To ensure that advanced manufacturing employers and automation professionals recognize the value of these credentials in their recruitment, screening and hiring processes by recognizing, preferring or requiring nationally portable, industry-recognized credentials.
