IGNITE: Mastering Manufacturing
Prepare students for a bright feature
Are your Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs preparing your students for the highly-skilled, high-paying jobs available throughout industry today? IGNITE: Mastering Manufacturing combines self-directed eLearning with real-world equipment to teach students the hands-on, transferable skills industry needs. Advanced materials, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and other Industry 4.0 technologies have created many new exciting career opportunities, but also require a new set of knowledge and abilities. Individuals in today’s world must possess state-of-the-art technical skills, systems optimization skills, and employability skills, such as teamwork.
Spark a Passion for Learning
Thanks to funding by the Department of Defense, the Manufacturing USA Institutes developed a competency model foundation for the “multi-skilled technician” needed in today’s manufacturing workplace. That model has been translated to an educational pathway that recognizes the next generation of manufacturing technical workforce must, in fact, be a workforce of high-skilled technicians who:
- Possess knowledge, skills, and abilities
- Understand materials science
- Optimize manufacturing technologies, processes, and systems
Due in part to varying employment needs, significant challenges await manufacturers who need workers with “up-scaled” knowledge and skills, known as advanced manufacturing. The requirements mean the U.S. has to teach and train our next generation of manufacturers differently.
Many educational institutions have intensified their efforts to dedicate more resources to teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. However, teaching STEM subjects alone is not enough. Educators must align programs with the needs of the evolving workplace to produce students prepared for the technical and technology-driven jobs available throughout industry today.
Career Exploration and Skill Development
IGNITE is a foundational skill development program designed to stimulate student interest in today’s Advanced Manufacturing / Industry 4.0 careers. Students learn about the many careers and experience them firsthand by performing tasks with hands-on Industry 4.0 / IIoT technology and virtual environments.
IGNITE: Mastering Manufacturing was developed in collaboration with three Manufacturing USA Institutes (LIFT, America Makes, and MxD) to ensure that students interested in a rewarding career in modern industry can make an immediate contribution in the workplace. The IGNITE curriculum is the perfect blend of career exploration, creative learning, and skill development. IGNITE establishes critical skills in systems-thinking and team problem-solving through creative project-based learning activities and a structured curriculum.
IGNITE Program Overview
Using IGNITE, students will be exposed to a variety of industries and technologies. The student goals of the program include:
- Inspiration: Inspire today’s students to consider a rewarding career in advance manufacturing
- College Credit: Get a jumpstart on postsecondary education by earning college credits
- Career Exploration: Explore jobs from product design to product fabrication and everything in between
- Industry-Recognized Certifications: Aligns with industry-recognized 3rd party occupational certifications, including SACA and MSSC
- Preparation for Smart Factories: Preparation for Smart Factory technology, including Industry 4.0 & IIoT
IGNITE’s innovative curriculum supports a modular 6-course Advanced Manufacturing program, with additional materials science activities for science courses. Each course can be completed in one semester, providing flexibility for 1-, 2, or 3-year programs. All IGNITE courses include stimulating interactive eLearning lessons, computer simulations, design projects, and hands-on workstations using Industry 4.0 technologies.
Students begin with foundational topics, such as safety, measurement, hand tools, print reading, and materials science. They then move on to learn relevant knowledge and hands-on skills related to a wide variety of topics essential in modern industry, including: AC/DC electricity; fluid power; machine tools; mechanical drives; electrical relay control; computer-aided design and manufacturing; CNC machine operation and programming; materials engineering; electrical fabrication; plastics and mold design; welding; and lean manufacturing.
Comprehensive Curriculum: eLearning and Virtual Trainers
To engage and reach students with a variety of learning styles, IGNITE: Mastering Manufacturing features a robust combination of learning methods to provide an outstanding learning experience that includes both comprehensive theoretical knowledge and practical, hands-on skills valuable throughout industry. Examples include:
eLearning
The IGNITE eLearning curriculum offers flexible, self-directed technical training with comprehensive content and exceptional interactivity for practical skill development. It features a highly-interactive, multimedia format that includes stunning 3D graphics and videos, voiceovers of all text, and interactive exercises designed to appeal to learners with different learning styles.
The eLearning courses take deep dives into:
- Technical Skills: Learning Industry 4.0 technical skills becomes an energizing experiences for students with IGNITE’s state-of-the-art interactive multimedia curriculum.
- Employability Skills: IGNITE’s courses include eLearning lessons that teach employability skills — such as teamwork, communication, and professionalism — which are essential to workplace success.
To help instructor’s gauge student comprehension and engagement, the curriculum also includes assessment quizzes, as well as classroom-based skills assessment via Amatrol’s exclusive Skill Boss Manufacturing performance assessment tool. To learn more about interactive eLearning, click here.
Virtual Trainers
The IGNITE curriculum features Virtual Trainers, which are simulators embedded in eLearning lessons to provide online skill practice. They replicate hands-on equipment in such great detail that learners will feel like they are using the actual equipment as they perform the industry-based tasks. Learners perform essentially the same jobs using virtual trainers that they would using the hands-on systems, bringing industrial realism to online learning. Amatrol’s Virtual Trainers:
- Build essential skills without access to actual equipment — Ideal for distance learning!
- Exist in open workspace — Not forced along predetermined steps
- Reduce hands-on time with equipment to complete skill mastery
To learn more about hands-on Virtual Trainers, click here.