ABB, which is working closely with educators to close the automation skills gap with a new robotics education package, says automated technologies are increasingly a part of the working world, one that requires a new generation of ‘tech-savvy’ employees who can ‘master the technologies and find new ways to work with them’.
ABB says: “For both current and future workers, the challenge is to ensure that their skillsets are complementary to automated technologies, allowing them to use the technologies to find ways to make themselves more productive. With our extensive experience and portfolio of robotic solutions, ABB is assisting educational institutions with the training needed to teach robotic and automation skills to today’s students who become tomorrow’s workers.”
ABB is working in numerous projects to help students in schools, colleges, and universities worldwide understand the enhancements robotics is bringing to industries ranging from engineering and manufacturing to architecture and product design. The most recent project is the ABB Robotics education package for schools, colleges, and universities.
Developed by industry experts, this package empowers students from all backgrounds to excel in robotics and automation; part of ABB Robotics’ global campaign ‘to help workers thrive in this new era of automation’, it includes a GoFa collaborative robot (cobot), teaching materials, and a globally recognised technical qualification.
Andrea Cassoni, ABB Robotics’ managing director of the General Industries Business Line, said: “With robotic automation increasingly embraced by multiple sectors, from manufacturing and distribution to retail and healthcare, companies are looking for people with the skills needed to handle robots and automation. By enabling schools, colleges, and universities to easily create and run robotics training courses that are recognised by industry, ABB’s
Robotics Education Package is closing the technology skills gap by preparing students for the automated workplace.”
The focal point of the package is the ‘Education Cell’, which features a fully functional ABB GoFa — an easy-to-use cobot that helps students learn real-life industrial applications. Moreover, students as young as 15 can use the robot without needing any prior engineering knowledge, thanks to ABB Robotics’ lead-through and ABB’s Wizard Easy Programing; and at the end of the education programme students receive an accepted qualification that can be shown to employers in over 80 countries as proof of their ability to work with robotic automation.