Linn-Benton Community College launches program to train next generation of manufacturing workers

Starting fall term of this year, Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC) in Albany will offer a program that leads to an associate of applied science degree in mechatronics.

The word “mechatronics” is a combination of “mechanics” and “electronics.” Tetsuro Mori, a senior engineer at Japanese robotics company Yaskawa, created the term in 1969. Mechatronics combines mechanics, electronics, control engineering and computing.

You’ve likely heard that Oregon will need some 53,000 skilled workers in the next 10 years to fill new jobs and replace retiring baby boomers. Another facet to this workforce challenge is that because of the increasing spread of automation into all levels of manufacturing, many of those will have to be a new breed of worker whose abilities combine mechanical skills and computer skills.

The LBCC program will help create this new breed of workers. Students in the mechatronics program will learn how to troubleshoot and maintain mechanical and electrical systems. A number of courses in the program focus on programming and maintenance of programmable logic controls (PLCs), ubiquitous industrial computers that help power automation.

The Northwest Food Processors Association supported development of the program. A representative from NWFPA member National Frozen Foods in Albany, quoted in the CCWD document approving the new program, said, “In this day and age we are gaining in production through software technology, therefore, we have a need for people who can diagnose and repair this type of technology.”

Graduates will possess skills that enable them to assist teams that design and reconfigure operational systems. They'll also be able to manage career education and workplace learning to ensure they and their coworkers continue to have the skills needed to keep their companies competitive.

LBCC is the only community college in the Willamette Valley that offers this kind of training.