Faculty Members Launch Electronics Manufacturing Training for Veterans

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Two RIT faculty members are building a comprehensive workforce development program in manufacturing for veterans and under-employed individuals to provide the needed skills-based training in electronics assembly.

Participants will be prepared for positions in advanced manufacturing, including filling gaps for needed positions in semiconductor processing. They will also qualify for national credentialling in electronics assembly and manufacturing through the sessions, said Martin Anselm, professor and interim department head in RIT’s College of Engineering Technology.

“There are jobs here in Rochester for technicians primarily in setting up and managing manufacturing lines and overseeing quality assurance and inspection of products coming off the lines,” said Anselm, who will lead both the hands-on training and oversee the credentialling process. “These are very powerful standards that most companies need to certify their technicians. So, we are offering veterans that credential even before they get a new job.”

Anslem and co-project leader, Malar Hirudayaraj, associate professor of management in RIT’s Saunders College of Business, received more than $700,000 from the New York State Department of Labor to launch the two-year program.

This will be the fourth time RIT has conducted the program since it began in 2016. To date, it has an 80 percent average job placement record for participants.

Beginning in late fall, members of the Veterans Outreach Center, collaborative partners on the project team, will be recruiting area veterans for the program. They will also track participation, hiring, and retention during and after the sessions.

Participants will receive an overview of the electronics industry, and hands on practice in RIT’s Center for Electronic Manufacturing and Assembly (CEMA), a nationally recognized facility to teach, train, and provide industry testing in surface mount technology and in printed circuit board design, placement, and packaging. The center’s training and research operations experts provide services to regional and national companies in semiconductor chip packaging, printed circuit board assemblies, and electronics/optoelectronics systems.

All program content will include topics required for credentialing and will be supplemented with workshops in interpersonal communication, project management, and leadership skills.

“Beyond the hands-on training and credentialling, our goals are to prepare the trainees to transition to work in the civilian world,” said Hirudayaraj, who specializes in organization development and leadership training. “These are employability skills and a way for the veterans to be successful in the civilian workplace which may be different than what they are used to.”

New this year is a stipend for each participant to support their training.

“We plan to do this six times over the next two years so that we will have trained 60 veterans from the Greater Rochester area,” said Anselm, who has expertise in surface mount technology, electronics failure analysis, and root cause analysis, with research interests including solder joint reliability and advanced manufacturing process development for electronic assemblies.

Supporting veterans toward careers is one part of the program. Anselm and Hirudayaraj will also develop a complementary program for companies that hire veterans to help with their transition from the military to careers in civilian life.

“We want to develop this part of the program, in conjunction with local companies, to get their input regarding how to help support these veterans. What is it that veterans struggle with? What is needed to understand veterans’ issues to better retain them?” Anselm said.  “This has never been taught by RIT before, and we are trying to build this in such a way that it has a broader reach beyond the Rochester area.”

Beyond entry-level positions and retraining opportunities, the program can be a means for participants to advance in manufacturing though positions as line managers, or team and shift management positions. They could also attain two- or four-year degrees through area colleges such as RIT where its Veterans Upward Bound initiative supports these efforts, Anselm said.

Malar Hirudayaraj, left, and Martin Anselm are developing a comprehensive workforce development program in electronic manufacturing for area veterans. It will take place in RIT’s Center for Electronic Manufacturing and Assembly.