Empowering factory workers: Gakuto Club's Advanced Apprenticeship Program bridges skill gaps for industry veterans
The manufacturing landscape is rapidly changing. As we stand on the cusp of Industry 4.0, the demand for a highly skilled, adaptable workforce is more pronounced than ever. Enter Gakuto Club, a 501(C)(3) nonprofit training center focused on providing affordable and accessible STEM workforce education to students and adults, regardless of socioeconomic background.
As a testament to its mission statement, Gakuto Club has recently launched the Gakuto Club Apprenticeship Program - with a series of stackable credentials that demonstrate up-skilled labor ready for Industry 4.0. With the Gakuto Club Apprenticeship Program, modern fabricators can take paid 16-week courses in advanced metal fabrication and master the latest in automation technology. In the face of automation fears, the Gakuto Club Apprenticeship Program offers a different narrative - one of an up-skilled workforce with better paying jobs.
The Gakuto Club Apprenticeship Program provides an opportunity for students and shop workers to grab onto the speeding train of automation. Local manufacturing sponsors provide materials, projects, equipment and instructors in exchange for real work. The problems solved by apprentices are not artificial - they are existing problems for real manufacturers, which provide real value when solved.
The Gakuto Club Apprenticeship Program focuses on an 80/20 split. The first 20% of the apprentice's time is spent strictly training and improving theoretical knowledge of modern advanced automation, while the remaining 80% emphasizes hands-on practice with real work. The value of the apprentice's time is of course recognized and compensated, with a "learn as you earn" approach. The Gakuto Club Apprenticeship Program also keeps a tight a 2:1 student to instructor ratio, each apprentice is guaranteed a quality, personalized experience.
The Gakuto Club Apprenticeship Program states its goal with this future program will be to directly benefit the apprentices by providing real world experience, which also hones their soft and hard skills. Local industry connections, tailored resume advice and the working knowledge of how to exist comfortably within a manufacturing shop floor directly addresses employers' desire for immediate returns on their investment in training - and of course, helps ease anxious job seekers.
The Gakuto Club Apprenticeship Program addresses the hesitations of employers by providing a streamlined, practical, and results-oriented approach to training, mitigating risks and aligning with the evolving expectations of the job market. This benefit is directly transferred to the apprentice, who receives job-relevant automation hard skills, on-the-job experience, and direct job placement assistance.
Gakuto Club invites the reader to witness the latest cohort of the Gakuto Club Apprenticeship Program. Their limited series, Making a Fabricator, will be live every other Monday starting Nov. 27. Making a Fabricator tells the story of Colin Paul and Patrick Hooper as they navigate through the training needed to be a successful fabricator of Industry 4.0. Gakuto Club additionally invites the reader to see their skills live on Jan. 4, at the Gakuto Winter Cup, a celebration of industrial achievement. The Gakuto Winter Cup will showcase a competition between the two Fabricators, as well as a youth industrial robotics competition for local high schoolers.
For more info about the Gakuto Club Apprenticeship Program, Making a Fabricator, or the Gakuto Winter Cup, please visit gakutoclub.org.