Skilled 4 Work: Industrial automation technician training, AI program
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Not too long ago, having skills related to artificial intelligence wasn’t even a thought for employees – or even a requirement for some employers – but times have changed and places like CNM are helping students keep up.
Their industrial automation technician program, also known as mechatronics, is training students to become skilled technicians who can repair and maintain computer-controlled systems and robotic devices.
‘Well it just so happens that we get a lot of requests from employers, they come to the college and ask ‘Hey do you have a technician?'” said James Berry, a future of trades residential fellow at CNM. “A maintenance technician or automation technician program, we’ve been debating this and it’s taken us almost two years to get this program started.”
“Amazon has a need for a role called a Maintenance Technician II, so we work with both Amazon and our partners at Unmodulated which is a skills-to-job marketplace to design a curriculum to design training for people to be eligible to apply for the Maintenance Technician II job,” said Mary Gallivan, the executive director of programs at CNM Ingenuity. “There are about a thousand of these jobs that Amazon hires for, so this is all about building the workforce pipeline for Amazon fulfillment centers in New Mexico and across the country.”
Their hands-on technician training is providing training for positions in areas such as welding, 3D printing and other areas.
Having AI skills wasn't even a thought for employees not that long ago but times have changed and CNM is helping students keep up.
CNM also launched an artificial intelligence program in partnership with Intel where students get trained on dating collection, AI model training, coding and more.
“When you think about an individual that may be working already today and looking for additional skills to add to become more employable or the opportunity to advance, artificial intelligence is one of those opportunities that is really important,” said Samantha Sengel, the vice president for workforce and community success at CNM.
You can either get a training certificate in AI or a degree and you don’t need a computer science background. In fact, officials say having AI skills can help a candidate stand out in the employment pool regardless of their degree.
In the coming weeks, we will explore many more career and training opportunities as a part of our Skilled 4 Work series, presented by CNM.