Southwest PA students are upskilling for automation with a federally-backed program — and it’s seeking instructors  

The New Economy Collaborative of Southwestern Pennsylvania announced a $62.7 million Build Back Better grant toward workforce development in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Follow Technical.ly’s coverage of the 11-county project here.

A new local training program is offering job seekers a free opportunity to develop in-demand skills in an increasingly automated industry. 

Launched earlier this month, Butler County Community College’s (BC3) Industrial Equipment Technician program trains students on how to use equipment that goes hand-in-hand with the increased automation of manufacturing processes.

Classes are already full through September, but the program is looking for additional instructors to train those who join the waitlist, the coordinator of professional education and certificate programs at BC3, Kate Buza, told Technical.ly. 

“Since we’ve had such a great response to it,” Buza said, “now we are looking to find another instructor so we don’t have to wait all the way until September to offer it again.”

The program was designed specifically for job seekers and to upskill current workers by offering hands-on training in equipment diagnostics, troubleshooting, safety and maintenance in several key areas:

• AC/DE electrical systems 
• Hydraulics and pneumatics 
• Industrial electrical wiring
• Programmable logic controllers 

$850k in funding and other partnerships crucial to programming

This year is the first year a program like this has been offered at BC3, Buza said, and it’s thanks to $850,000 from the Build Back Better (BBB) Regional Challenge Grant, a $62.7 million investment in Southwestern Pennsylvania’s economic development. 

The nonprofit New Economy Collaborative (NEC) is tasked with distributing the BBB funding across five distinct projects, all focused on adoption, upskilling infrastructure and commercialization in the robotics sector.

BC3’s new training program falls under Project 3, which aims to expand pathways to new careers and is the upskilling element of NEC’s efforts to support economic development in the region. 

BC3 also tapped an advisory board of local manufacturers to help design the program, Buza said. 

“Our advisory board talked about the need for more automation,” Buza said, “and finding workers who have skills, at least on a basic level, of electrical work, working with programmable logic controllers and motor control.”