Festo Expands Apprenticeship Program

Festo Didactic Learning Systems North America recently announced new plans for its Mechatronics Apprenticeship Program.

MAP supports manufacturers locally and nationally in training and retaining skilled workers. Heading into its sixth year, MAP will begin accepting apprenticeships on a rolling admission basis instead of a semester schedule. The program consists of 57 weeks of training instead of five semesters. This transition allows for more apprentices to enroll faster and get to work sooner.

To announce the expansion of MAP, Festo hosted a Nov. 4 event at its Regional Service Center in Mason, Ohio. The program also received recognition from the state for its continuing efforts to advance technology careers in Ohio. Guest speakers included representatives from the lieutenant governor’s office and the state’s ApprenticeOhio program.

MAP is designed to introduce individuals to modern smart manufacturing. MAP prioritizes hands-on, experiential learning that exposes students to the wide array of advanced technologies that support modern manufacturing operations, including fluid power, electricity, programming, robotics, and troubleshooting. MAP launched in 2016, and four years later it earned a Best in Ohio Business Award in the workforce development program category.

The award-winning mechatronics program is a collaboration among Art Metal Group, Clippard Instruments, E-Beam, MQ Automation, Nestlé, Festo Didactic, and others.

Festo Didactic provides educators and employers with the hands-on training, digital coursework, and blended learning solutions needed to close the STEM skills gap. Lab equipment, curriculum, and certification programs support various learning pathways and on-the-job training.

The Festo Learning Center is developing a full-scale Industry 4.0 Experience Center. The new center and showroom aim to close the STEM skills gap by bringing technical education, industrial applications, and actual manufacturing under one roof. The Experience Center will house the latest Festo technology, from networked cyber-physical stations to factory robots, assembly components, supply chain innovation, and more. Educators, students, and workers at all levels are encouraged to visit and speak with Festo experts about career programs, learning solutions, and workforce development for industrial companies and the classroom alike.

Classes will be held at Festo’s Regional Service Center, a 47-acre state-of-the-art logistics and manufacturing plant that opened in 2015 and is among Mason’s 15 largest employers. The RSC serves as the home base for Festo’s Learning Center. MAP launched in 2016, and four years later it earned the Best in Ohio Business Award in the Workforce Development Program category.

For more information, email karen.oberer@festo.com , click here, and visit www.festo-didactic.com/us-en/ and www.festo.com.

• Festo Didactic
• fluid power
• Mechatronics Apprenticeship Program