The ARM Institute, whose headquarters is part of the Carnegie Mellon Institute in Pittsburgh, is a national, membership-based consortium dedicated to asserting U.S. leadership in manufacturing through robotics and workforce innovation.
The recognition of Butler Tech’s relatively young mechatronics program is a major step in credibility for the career school system that serves Butler County’s 10 public school districts and Northwest Schools in northern Hamilton County, said Superintendent Jon Graft.
And its good news for local industries hungry for young, trained workers adept in robotics and other similar fields like automation and manufacturing, said Graft.
“At the core of our work, we work with students to be career ready and the ARM endorsement validates the great work of our instructors and the remarkable skills of our students needed for the 21st century workforce,” he said.
According to a Butler Tech statement, the ARM Endorsement Program is a thorough process used to identify organizations that are the most effective at preparing students for careers in manufacturing working with robotics. The endorsement program was conceptualized and created through the ARM Institute’s 300-plus member national consortium, giving equal voice to the needs of manufacturers, education providers, and government stakeholders.
Lisa Masciantonio, ARM Institute chief workforce officer, said “we are pleased to recognize elite organizations for preparing workers for … careers.”
“Effective training will be key to our nation navigating the mounting skills gap and workforce shortage in manufacturing. Recognizing top-tier programs will help students identify the best training for their desired manufacturing career,” Masciantonio said.
Now future Butler Tech graduates entering the job market will be aided by the ARM endorsement of their learning, said David Campbell, Butler Tech mechatronics instructor.
“This endorsement validates our pursuit of preparing our students for the workforce needs in our community,” said Campbell.
“Butler Tech strives to prepare our students with relevant skills through an effective curriculum that is deeply connected to our industry partners. The connections from the ARM Institute endorsement enable our students to be immediately employed in a career path that is in very high demand.”
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