The Shapiro administration has invested $200,000 in the Robotic WorX program at Millersville University in Millersville, Pa., to help develop a strong pipeline of manufacturing industry workers through career training.
“Investing in programs like Millersville University’s Robotic WorX is essential to building a skilled workforce and strengthening Pennsylvania’s manufacturing industry,” said state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Director of Workforce Development Initiatives Gwen Ross.
“The Shapiro administration is proud to invest in advanced technology training programs like this one that inspire students and adults and help put them on the path to a good-paying manufacturing career,” Ross added.
The new Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career Grant (MTTC) program grant will create paid student internships and support training and supplies for the program at the university’s state-of-the-art Solutions Lab. The grant is designed to help ensure that financial barriers do not prevent talented students from participating in the training program, according to DCED
With the MTTC grant, the Robotic WorX program expects to impact more than 2,000 individuals over the next two years through increased high school participation, additional internships, peer mentoring, and engagement events for local organizations.
The program provides a link between STEM education and career pathways through internships, job shadow experiences, and tours in which participants engage with cutting-edge automation and robotics technologies.
“We’re very thankful for the grant from the Shapiro administration,” said John Haughery, Robotic WorX co-founder and program coordinator of Millersville’s Automation and Robotics Engineering Technology program.
“The Robotic WorX program provides so many entry points to Pennsylvania’s automation and robotics pipeline,” Haughery explained. “From first-time experience with robotics, to getting your hands on a collaborative robot, to spending a semester-long internship developing state-of-the-art automation technologies for real manufacturing problems in PA and beyond, this program offers so much to so many.”
The Robotic WorX program, a partnership between Millersville University and Precision Cobotics, connects middle school, high school, undergraduate, and community groups in Lancaster County, Pa., with real-world STEM career training in manufacturing to meet the growing need of the region’s industry.
“This hands-on experience, using the latest in AI and robotics technologies, creates clear career pathways in this exciting field,” said John Bridgen, Robotic WorX co-founder and director of customer satisfaction and co-worker of advancement at Precision Cobotics. “This grant from the Shapiro administration… [allows] us to connect the real-world problems of manufacturing in Pennsylvania with area high school STEM students.”