There is a widespread shortage of experienced, skilled engineers across manufacturers and system integrators. Automation NTH is solving this problem through its best-in-class training and development program called NTH University (or “NTHU”) to accelerate automation skill acquisition for its engineers and customers.
This program has had a profound impact on Automation NTH and its engineers, giving them the connections, skills, and confidence they need to make meaningful contributions to projects as soon as they graduate from the NTHU program. Beyond the core curriculum, there are five often overlooked reasons that NTH University is so effective:
1. Mentorship
Automation NTH engineers are assigned mentors when they join the company. Mentors help answer questions, get students connected to other subject matter experts in the company, provide coaching, and are a sounding board throughout the experience. This personal touch is a key ingredient to accelerating the development of our engineers.
“I have been in the electrical controls industry for more than 30 years. I have seen many approaches to training young engineers in the field of controls and automation. I have never seen a more comprehensive approach to giving new engineers the skills needed to be a team asset right away than NTH University.”
Shane Cox, Staff Controls Engineer
2. Hands On Experience
2. Hands On ExperienceDuring the program, students gain invaluable hands-on experience that covers core foundational elements of automation from design to HMI and PLC programming and beyond. The internship culminates with a capstone project where the engineer designs and builds a trainer control panel from scratch and then programs it to run a sorting application on a small conveyor. It is at this stage that engineers learn the important rule of thumb that 20% of programming effort goes towards basic functionality, and the other 80% of programming is required to make the program resilient with good fault recovery.
“The two most important lessons and experiences that NTHU gave me: First, the confidence to take on any project from beginning to end …. Second, the connections with other engineers and electricians… Knowing them already made the work environment more fun and interesting when working on other bigger projects.”
Diego Villanueva, Controls Engineer II, NTH U Class of 2020
3. Customer Service
3. Customer ServiceNTHU students take courses that address soft skills as well, such as Course 108 – Customer Service for Engineers. This helps engineers understand that “excellence in automation” includes providing superior customer service, ensuring a cradle-to-grave mentality and focus on our customer’s success during the project and beyond. By developing this customer-centric mentality, NTHU students are prepared to view our customer’s needs holistically, not just the specific project tasks they’re assigned.
“Engineers that come out of our NTHU program are more capable than any new engineer I have ever worked with in the past. They have a good grasp of the many different disciplines of a controls engineer and can immediately be a contributor on any project. After seeing how capable NTHU graduates are, I wish I would have had the opportunity to experience this curriculum when I was a new controls engineer.”
Andrew Shade, Staff Controls Engineer, NTHU Mentor since 2019
4. Standards
4. StandardsNTHU students are taught both industry and Automation NTH standards, including company templates and procedures. This results in a consistent approach to projects across the company, ensuring we provide similar experiences and results for our customers, no matter which employees are working with them.
“Not many companies invest this amount of time and energy in developing their young engineers. NTH University was one of the primary reasons why I decided to join Automation NTH.”
Hajah Saleh, Senior Controls Engineer, NTH U Class of 2018
5. Safety
Beyond just technical education, NTHU also covers important safety topics. Students learn about areas such as the NTH Emergency Action Plan, HAZCOM, and Lock-out/Tag-out Procedures. This prepares students for working safely with automation equipment at our facilities and also at customers with they install and maintain equipment in the field.
Summary
NTHU prepares its students to tackle complex, challenging automation applications with confidence. The comprehensive, systematic curriculum and methodology allows Automation NTH to consistently deliver high performing custom automation equipment.
NTHU training is also provided to our customers. For more information on Automation NTH training, click here.