OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – One local college is preparing students for careers in the high-tech world of robotics.
On Valencia College’s Osceola Campus, the Advanced Robotics Learning Factory is training students in just 22 weeks to become semiconductor and robotics technicians.
The curriculum was designed in collaboration with professionals at BRIDG and Skywater Technology. The program recently received a $4.1 million grant from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund.
“My industry is semiconductor manufacturing. We’re over at NeoCity at the Center for Neoovation, and we’re going to need skills that are happening right here in this robotics program,” said Dave Miller, VP and GM of Skywater Florida. “It’s important so that as a college or university prepares the program, it’s relevant to the industry that’s going to use it. So being allowed to participate and engage in what the curriculum will be, makes that student very relevant immediately once they graduate. We know what they’ve had as part of the program. We know what we need to continue to grow as part of the program.”
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Miller tells News 6 that Skywater has already hired some recent graduates.
“Unprecedented. Unprecedented. It’s a great opportunity. Matter of fact, when we talk to our customers about the facility and point to Valenica College across the way here, you can see the rooftop and we say we’re getting our future technicians out of that facility right across the street. It’s a great way to say that there’s a commitment from the local community to make our industry successful locally,” he said.
Miller says on average, graduates can expect to make $20 per hour or more, depending on background and experience.
To learn more about the program, visit here.
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