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Programs for Incumbent Worker Training |
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 The Industrial Maintenance Training Center (IMTC) of PA provides training in the skills necessary to perform industrial maintenance tasks in today’s world class manufacturing operations. The IMTC is a program of the Mid-Atlantic Mechatronics Partnership and is funded through fees paid by employers and state and federal grants obtained through the Workforce Investment Boards of Lancaster and Berks counties.
Training: Anytime... Anywhere
Training is provided by a combination of on-line e-learning and hands-on labs using real industrial equipment. New students are enrolled each week and students proceed at a pace agreed to by themselves and their employer. Course work, that is available via e-learning, may be completed at any time and from any place where a high speed internet connection is available to the student. Laboratory time may be scheduled at the student’s convenience Monday through Saturday, morning, afternoon or evening. This method of scheduling and delivery provides the ultimate in flexibility for working maintenance technicians who often find it difficult to schedule themselves for conventional training classes.
Students may enroll in one of two complete multi-disciplinary certificate programs (AM/IST-1 or AM/IST-2), discipline-specific courses, or short topical classes that have been designed by adult education experts based upon requirements established by leading manufacturers. All completed coursework may be applied toward college credit. Students may also obtain credit for existing skills and knowledge through a testing program that eliminates the need of repeating coursework in topics already mastered. Employers may also use this testing program as a yardstick to gauge the skills of employees who are entering the program. Finally, for employers with special needs, customized training programs may be developed. |
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Developing a Strategic Vision for the Packaging Industry in Southeastern PA |
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Reading: More than 40 leaders from the packaging industry, economic development, and education met in Reading, PA on Thursday, June 25 to hear the results of multiple studies that were conducted in the course of a Regional Innovation Project in packaging through a Regional Innovation Grant from the US Department of Labor. Studies reported included an overview of the packaging industry in the tri-state (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware) area, a study of the capabilities of the machine building industry in the region to build packaging machines, an in-depth examination of packaging supply chains and opportunities to fill gaps as a part of business attraction, and a report of the highly-articulated program of training in mechatronics and industrial maintenance that has been developed for new and incumbent workers.
Scott Sheely, Director of the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board, and Keith Campbell, Project Director of the Industrial Maintenance Training Center, opened the conference with an overview of the project. Click here for that report. Campbell and Tom Egan, Vice-President of the Packaging Machine Manufacturers Institute provided a general overview of the packaging industry. Click here and here for those reports. Sheely presented an overview of the industry and a review of the supply chains and their gaps. Click here and here for these reports. Rob McIlvaine from MANTEC provided an overview of the study of machine-building capacity. Click here for the entire report. Commentary by Glenn Siegele of Omega Design Corporation helped those attending in developing a list of priorities for future training including better communication between the parties, more CAM training, and training in rapid design protocols.
John Devere, Dean of Workforce and Economic Development/Community Education at the Reading Area Community College, and Campbell briefed those attending on the program of training that has been developed by RACC in cooperation with the Berks and Lancaster County Workforce Investment. Click here and here and here and here for this information.
Following the morning session and tours of the Schmidt Training Center, educations providers met together to plan for extending the industrial maintenance and mechatronics curriculum into a statewide project. For more information, contact Scott Sheely at
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MAMP and PMMI begin work with US DOL on Mechatronics Competency Model |
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Representatives of the Mid Atlantic Mechatronics Partnership (MAMP) and the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers' Institute (PMMI) met in Washington on February 11, 2009 with the US Department of Labor(DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to begin the process of creating a competency model for mechatronics occupations related to the packaging industry within the hybrid manufacturing space. Eleven competency models have been created thus far in areas including advanced manufacturing, aerospace, automation, financial services, and retail.
The competency model for mechatronics will be based upon the work completed during the Summer of 2008 at the Purdue Workshop on Packaging Mechatronics. This workshop, attended by representatives of industry and higher education, resulted in a conceptual model for a suite of certificates that may be offered nationally by educational providers and endorsed by PMMI. The base level certificates are designed to correspond to the knowledge and skills taught by the Industrial Maintenance Training Center of PA (IMTC) in its Advanced Manufacturing / Intetgrated Systems Technology (AM/IST) programs.
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Regional WIB Directors encourage IMTC efforts |
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Thirteen Workforce Investment Board Directors in South Eastern Pennsylvania and the immediately adjoining areas of New Jersey and Delaware have recognized the need for workers trained in the multi-disciplinary area of mechatronics to fill industrial maintenance jobs in industries that are key to the region. These industries include pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing, food and beverage processing, cosmetics, and other consumer goods manufacturing and packaging.
Recognizing the highly successful program in industrial maintenance and mechatronics that is already underway by the Industrial Maintenance Training Center of PA in the Lancaster and Berks county region of PA, these WIB Directors authorized a study to be conducted to determine the feasibility of extending this program into the larger region by taking advantage of existing assets, leveraging the lessons already learned and minimizing the time and resources needed. The study was funded with a US DOL Regional Innovation Grant administered by the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board.
The work was undertaken beginning in the Summer of 2008 and extending into early 2009. The completedreport provides preliminary recommendations outlining the greatest opportunity areas for extending this education and training program and creating a shared resource pipeline across the entire region.Asa result of the report, efforts have beenbegunto expand the base-level training in the region and articulate new and existing programs to ReadingArea Community College. Read the entire report here. |
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