Pre-apprenticeship Credentials
SMART is a PA certified pre-apprenticeship program that includes training materials that foreground and measure ARM industry competencies. The program is aligned with New Century Careers' Robotics Technician Apprenticeship Program, and is aimed to align with additional Apprenticeships.
This project builds on data collected in 2017 via surveys sent out to ARM member companies and Robotics Corridor data collected from nearly 40 regional robotics and automation companies from 2007-10 (see the table directly below) to develop mechatronic/robotic associate degree programs at CCAC, BC3, and WCCC.
Pictured: An aggregated table of the competencies and tasks identified via DACUMS, site visits, surveys, and interviews during the Robotics Corridor Project. Competencies are found on the left and the duties and tasks that make up the competencies are found on the right. This type of data, as well as new data collected, will be used to develop pre-apprenticeship training and assessment tools.
New SMART pre-apprenticeship training
The pre-apprenticeship training materials foreground the development of SMART systems integration and debugging skills and will be divided into introductory through advanced labs. The labs and design challenges will be built around a combination of the Arduino Uno and other off-the-shelf nonproprietary technologies that include various types of electromechanical actuators, sensors, electronic components, wiring harnesses, and proto-boards for example. All course activities will require students to communicate and collaborate, access information via the internet, read and interpret schematic diagrams and drawings, crimp and solder, use precision measurement tools, meters, hand tools, and procedures that are used every day by SMART technicians. The labs and support materials will be available online for ARM EPN members to use in their pre-apprenticeship training programs.
