Mechatronic Technician Academy Begins on May 1

Applications are now being accepted for seats in the next Mechatronic Technician Academy which is set to begin on May 1, 2014 at Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Groves Campus. Applicants should have a passion for working with their hands and experience in a mechanical or electrical field of work, according to Cindy Buckley, Executive Director of Training for Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

Buckley said graduates of the Academy are assured that the skills they gained will have relevance as they compete for jobs in this exciting new field of work. “As students of the Groves Campus career academy programs, they are benefiting from the winning strategy of aligning curriculum with industry skill requirements,” Buckley said. “Learning by doing and earning credentials by demonstrating that you can perform the work is at the heart of the program,” she said.

The 20-week-long course provides a unique approach to learning. “Each segment of classroom instruction is followed up by hands-on, lab-based practice,” Buckley explained.

“Instructors are experienced subject matter experts who can create learning paths for students to become proficient and able to demonstrate exactly what they can do. Real world tools, components, machinery and processes are used from day one. Graduates are capable of doing work that employers need done. They’ve proven it by doing it.”

These highly skilled technicians will have mastered the competencies needed to work on all types of advanced machinery and combined systems which include electrical devices, control systems, mechanical equipment and fluid power systems. The Academy prepares graduates to enter the industrial sector and perform maintenance, set-up, and troubleshooting on equipment in positions such as industrial maintenance technician, automated manufacturing technician, electrical technician, mechanical technician, or industrial maintenance and repair.

The academy is one of several training programs housed at Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Groves Center. For more information or to apply call 269.353.1253, send an email message to careeracademies@kvcc.edu or go to MechatronicTechnicianAcademy.