Yaskawa Motoman and RAMTEC announce the formation of the Ohio Manufacturing Workforce Partnership, which will support the State of Ohio in creating a highly sustainable workforce development model and will provide STEM-aligned curriculum and training.

Yaskawa Motoman and RAMTEC (Marion, Ohio) are pleased to announce the formation of the Ohio Manufacturing Workforce Partnership. This strategic partnership will support the State of Ohio in creating a highly sustainable workforce development model and will provide Ohio educators and students with STEM-aligned curriculum and training in order to become proficient in Industry 4.0 technologies.

Yaskawa Motoman is a leading robotics company that is dedicated to collaborating closely with educators and industry professionals across the Americas to help build a relevant workforce training environment through educational tools and STEM curriculum.

RAMTEC (Robotics & Advanced Manufacturing Technology Education Collaborative) is a trusted accreditor of both high school and adult robotics manufacturing licensures and certifications that seeks to create sustainable solutions for filling Ohios robotics and advanced manufacturing skills gap.

"Data reveals that within ten years nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will sit empty, with the skills gap being responsible for 2 million of those jobs going unfilled," said Ritch Ramey, RAMTEC Coordinator and Engineering Instructor. "Forming mutually-beneficial relationships with manufacturers through the Ohio Manufacturing Workforce Partnership will create the foundation needed to move Ohios workforce forward."

Their core mission to partner with real-world manufacturing facilities to help identify and supply the needs of the manufacturing industry, is fueling RAMTECs involvement in the partnership. The entire project development funding is earmarked for $400,000 to provide a comprehensive training and application development model that will reach thousands of incumbent workers and students statewide.

"Our workforce-driven training and research partnership with RAMTEC is a solid step to providing students with work-based learning opportunities in the field of robotics," said Doug Burnside, Yaskawa Motomans Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "The best-in-class instruction and certification programs provided through our Yaskawa Academy will also help to enhance RAMTECs vision of providing proficient training and curriculum in 21st century automation and robotics."

Highlights of the partnership will include the creation of in-lab and classroom instructional strategies, the development of advanced industry-recognized robotic certifications, the utilization of augmented and virtual reality (VR) technologies to develop a new class of training tools and curriculum, and the incorporation of industry-utilized robotic equipment aligned to the industrial manufacturing base.

The on-going identification and creation of new training models to support the robotics manufacturing pipeline will also continue.

About Yaskawa Motoman
Founded in 1989, the Motoman Robotics Division of Yaskawa America, Inc. is a leading robotics company in the Americas. With over 400,000 Motoman® robots installed globally, Yaskawa provides automation products and solutions for virtually every industry and robotic application; including arc welding, assembly, coating, dispensing, material handling, material cutting, material removal, packaging, palletizing and spot welding. For more information please visit our website at www.motoman.com or call 937.847.6200.

About RAMTEC
RAMTEC is the first training facility of its kind in the state of Ohio. Through the collaboration of Tri-Rivers Career Center, Marion Technical College and The Ohio State University at Marion, RAMTEC offers a comprehensive solution for filling the skills gap by partnering directly with business and industry to provide industrial robotics and advanced manufacturing education, and industrial certifications throughout Central Ohio and beyond.