Program Description
If you seek a hands-on career in the high-tech industry, and quick entry into the job market, consider a certificate as a Certified Machine Operator and Mechatronics Assistant. Our program prepares you to be an effective, interdisciplinary problem solver. You will learn to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering used in manufacturing, distribution, and processing. You will become efficient at operating complex machinery, while troubleshooting and foreseeing production problems before they arise.
Program Overview
The Assistant Mechatronics program supplies local industries with knowledgeable machine operators who can operate, maintain, and perform preventative and routine maintenance on a variety of industrial equipment. The program is designed to prepare workers to pass the Key Train Applied Technology test, which many local employers required for employment. Program completers can also test to become Siemens Certified Assistant Technicians. This certification is recognized worldwide and will open many employment opportunities.
Students will gain understanding of the technology utilized in modern distribution and processing industries. Hands-on laboratories, in areas such as electricity and electronics, mechanics, fluid power, motor controls, and the basics of programmable logic controllers will assure the students are “work ready”. This program will give students a skill set that will make them immediately employable, and also pave the way for a continuation into the Mechatronics AAS program to become a certified technician. Internships are available.
Career Opportunities
Machine Operators are in high-demand around the globe, earning an average of $12 – $16 per hour, depending on their geographic region and the machine they operate. Prospective employers in the region include: EcoLab, Essroc, Quad Graphics, Macy’s Distribution, Fed-Ex, U.S. Silica, Ply Gen. Monoflo, O’Suliivan, Cenetic Landis, Automated Merchandising Systems, New World Pasta, and other firms in West Virginia, Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Southern Pennsylvania.
Many of these employers have tuition assistance programs, which will help the student to continue their education, toward an AAS in Mechatronics.
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