"Mechatronics brings a range of engineering disciplines together," said Maria Ferrante, PMMI's vice president of education & workforce development. "PMMI developed this mechatronics certificate program to set a standard for the industry and to encourage schools to provide the training students need to get started on this complex and exciting career path."
Mechatronics is a synergistic approach to mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, control engineering and computer science as they apply to the manufacturing environment. It is a skill and knowledge set that assures that the automation which drives modern manufacturing is able to provide higher productivity and output through machinery.
The certificate program is based on the mechatronics standards PMMI has developed.
In partnership with educators and the industry, PMMI has identified 24 skill areas required for mechatronics professionals working in the packaging industry. For each of the 24 skill areas, PMMI and its partners are in the process of outlining the competencies required.
Ferrante noted, "These competencies form the backbone of the test development. For this initial test, ‘Introduction to Industrial Electricity,’ we identified and validated the competencies which are published on our Web site and developed the assessment to test for skills and knowledge in these areas. We hope that curriculum developers around the country will adopt these standards to provide the consistent and rigorous training that the packaging community needs from its young and growing class of innovators.
"This certificate will enable students to better prepare for a career in packaging as well as establish professional, nationally recognized credentials. It will also enable the existing workforce to identify areas of opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills and prepare for additional job responsibilities. For managers, this certificate will demonstrate independent validation of a technician’s knowledge and skills as well as establish documentable hiring and promotion criteria."
PMMI worked with its industry partners and The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to develop a packaging oriented mechatronics competency model, which can be found at the Competency Model Clearinghouse. To earn the certificate, candidates will need to achieve a passing score on the online assessment test.
Visit www.pmmi.org/pmmiu for the complete list of competencies covered in PMMI U's "Introduction to Industrial Electricity." To learn more about PMMI U and core competencies in mechatronics, contact Maria Ferrante: [email protected], 703.243.8555.
