Millersville University manufacturing program receives investment from Shapiro Administration

The Shapiro Administration is investing $200,000 in Millersville University‘s Robotic Worx program. 

The program, which equips high school and undergraduate students with the opportunity to address genuine manufacturing problems through automation and robotics, was announced Tuesday by Department of Community and Economic Development Director of Workforce Development Initiatives Gwen Ross. 

“Investing in programs like Millersville University’s Robotic WorX is essential to building a skilled workforce and strengthening Pennsylvania‘s manufacturing industry,” Ross said in a statement. “The Shapiro Administration is proud to invest in advanced technology training programs like this one that inspire students and adults and helps put them on the path to a good paying manufacturing career.”  

The new Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career (MTTC) grant will create paid student internships and support training and supplies for the program in Millersville University’s Solutions Lab. According to a release, the MTTC grant program works with local manufacturers to identify and teach missing skills for entry level applicants seeking manufacturing employment, engage those with barriers to career opportunities in manufacturing, and advance capacity for local or regional manufacturers. 

“We’re very thankful for the grant from the Shapiro Administration,” said John Haughery, Robotic WorX co-founder and program coordinator of Millersville’s Automation & Robotics Engineering Technology program. “The Robotic WorX program provides so many entry points to Pennsylvania’s automation and robotics pipeline. 

“From first time experience with robotics, to getting your hands on a collaborative robot, to spending a semester long internship developing state-of-the-art automation technologies for real manufacturing problems in PA and beyond, this program offers so much to so many,” added Haughery. 

Aided by the MTTC grant, the Robotic WorX program looks to impact more than 2,000 individuals over the next two years through increased high school participations, additional internship, peer mentoring, and engagement events for local organizations. The program links STEM education and career pathways through internships, job shadow experiences, and tours in which participants engage with cutting-edge automation and robotics technologies.  

The Robotic WorX program connects middle school, high school, undergraduate, and community groups in Lancaster County with STEM career training in manufacturing to meet the needs of the region’s industry. 

“This hands-on experience, using the latest in AI and robotics technologies, creates clear career pathways in this exciting field,” said John Bridgen, Robotic WorX co-founder and director of Customer Satisfaction and Co-Worker Advancement at Precision Cobotics. “I found my passion for the field of automation and manufacturing when I was given a college internship in the packaging department at M&M/Mars in Elizabethtown. 

“This grant from the Shapiro Administration pays that forward by allowing us to connect the real-world problems of manufacturing in Pennsylvania with area high school STEM students,” added Bridgen.