A Pittsburgh community college leans into ‘mechatronics’ to upskill for debt-free careers

A federally funded mechatronics lab in Pittsburgh is helping students land tech jobs quickly without taking on student debt.

In Pittsburgh’s shifting landscape, regional manufacturers say demand for skilled workers in the field is growing fast, but companies are struggling to fill roles, according to Justin Starr, an endowed professor of advanced technology at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC). His program aims to change that by preparing students with the skills needed to step into modern manufacturing careers, without putting them thousands of dollars in the hole. 

“The story that sometimes gets lost is that manufacturing is different than it used to be,” Starr told Technical.ly. 

CCAC launched a new lab for mechatronics, which is the study of mechanical, electrical and computer systems used to operate and automate modern manufacturing machines, in 2023. Backed by $1.8 million from the federal Build Back Better (BBB) Regional Challenge grant, the space is outfitted with cutting-edge robotics equipment commonly used in today’s manufacturing facilities. 

Mechatronics students at CCAC have a graduation and job placement rate of over 90%, according to Starr, and students are walking away without debt because of the program’s low cost, something that’s increasingly uncommon in today’s education system. 

“What we do is teach students to be able to effectively operate advanced manufacturing lines so they can go out there and be the people who are building the equipment of today and tomorrow,” Starr said.

Christofer Main, 21, is one of them. As a plastic extrusion technician at VEKA, a window systems manufacturer in Beaver County, Main is completing a two-year apprenticeship that allows him to work and earn a salary while studying at CCAC.

Main said the program was a clear choice, especially now, when he has a baby on the way.

“With college, my wife, for example, she’s $40,000 in debt,” Main said. “I don’t have $40,000 just laying around. Monthly payments are crazy. This way, I still get paid to come to school and I don’t have to worry about that debt.”

Fast, reliable access to a skillset that pays 

The program’s associate degree graduation rates have fallen in recent years, but Starr said that’s actually a sign of success. Students are getting the skills they need to be productive with employers after just one semester or one year. 

“[Students] will go get a job, and they might not stick around for a full two years,” Starr said, ”because they’re making $35 an hour and they’re 18 years old.” 

Ethan Miller, 18, another VEKA apprentice studying at CCAC, is currently making around $40,000, plus free schooling, straight out of high school. 

“You can’t go to college and get paid for it unless you’re a football player,” Miller said. “I can get paid to go to school, and school is free, no debt. That beats college.” 

For some, CCAC’s program is also a path to stability in a new country.

Nahid Khajazada came to Pittsburgh in 2021 after the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan. She’s currently living in the city alone while her family remains overseas. After a year in CCAC’s mechatronics program, she landed an internship with local startup RealBotics.

Khajazada said she hopes to transfer to a four-year university and eventually start her own company.

“Here, I’ve learned a lot of things,” she said. “I’m more confident with how to work with this kind of stuff.” 

‘Mechatronics’ over ‘advanced manufacturing’ hooks more people

Funding for CCAC’s mechatronics lab comes from the New Economy Collaborative (NEC) of Southwestern Pennsylvania, which is administering $62.7 million of the BBB Regional Challenge grant. 

That $62.7 million is part of a broader $1 billion BBB initiative, launched in 2021 through the American Rescue Plan to spur post-pandemic economic recovery and revitalize communities impacted by decades of industrial decline.

The NEC is deploying the funds through five projects across 11 counties in the region, including Pittsburgh. CCAC’s mechatronics lab is part of Project Three, which focuses on upskilling workers and expanding career pathways into sectors like advanced manufacturing, a major industry in the Pittsburgh region that’s driving real economic mobility, Starr said. 

There are over 90,000 people employed by over 2,800 manufacturing companies in the Pittsburgh region, according to data from the nonprofit organization Pittsburgh Regional Alliance. 

However, stigma around manufacturing remains, according to Starr. 

“We have a lot of students whose parents maybe did manufacturing in the 70s and 80s, and they think it’s dirty,” Starr said. “They think it’s a field where their son or daughter could get laid off if they go into it.” 

To get around this, CCAC uses the term mechatronics to convey that the skills it’s teaching are high tech and part of the advanced manufacturing industry. 

The field blends traditional manufacturing skills, like wiring and mechanical drives, with advanced technologies such as programmable controllers and collaborative robots.

“Technology changes constantly,” Starr said, “and if we’re going to fill a need in the region, we need to train our students to use the equipment that either industry is using today, or that industry is going to be using tomorrow.”