A new partnership between the ARM Institute and Credential Engine will help students and workers looking for manufacturing careers working with robotics, as it will lead to new capabilities both for Credential Engine and the ARM Institute’s national workforce resource – RoboticsCareer.org. Credential Engine, a non-profit whose mission is to map the credential landscape with clear and consistent information, has also joined the ARM Institute’s 340+ member organization consortium.
The future of work and education is changing. As the manufacturing industry continues to shift towards Industry 4.0 and the world grapples with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the work landscape is shifting rapidly towards a skills-based economy. A skills-based economy means that workers will be hired based on their resume of skills and industry-approved qualifications in addition to standard education qualifications. This shift creates more opportunities for workers as a wider variety of education options can give them the skills needed for their desired career pathway.
This also creates a shift for employers. Employers will need to tailor job descriptions to detail the exact skills needed for individual job listings. There will also be an increased importance on finding methods to validate and test workers’ skills.
So how do employers, workers, and students navigate a skills-based economy? According to Credential Engine, there are more than 967,734+ unique credentials in the U.S. alone. How do students, workers, and employers identify the right training program for their goals? That’s where the ARM Institute and Credential Engine will come in to help.
The ARM Institute’s RoboticsCareer.org resource connects education seekers and employers with training options for manufacturing careers working with robotics. Each program listed on RoboticsCareer.org – and there are more than 13,500 programs listed – directly align with career pathways defined by the ARM Institute in collaboration with industry, government, and academia. The program’s listing clearly shows education seekers and employers which specific skills the program addresses.
Credential Engine provides critical access to information about credentials that opens students’ eyes to the full range of opportunities for learning, advancement, and meaningful careers both including and beyond manufacturing. Credential Engine provides a suite of web-based services that creates a centralized Credential Registry to house up-to-date information about all credentials, a common description language to enable credential comparability, and a platform to support customized applications to search and retrieve information about credentials.
As a first step towards this vision, the ARM Institute has published its Robotics Competency Framework and its Essential Soft Skills Framework (Robotics) to the Credential Registry. Both of these frameworks are widely used by employers and credential providers to coordinate on skill-based pathways. By having both of these frameworks in the Credential Registry semantically-meaningful information about specific skills and competencies can now be referenced by any linked open data application.
As an added benefit of ARM Institute Endorsement, programs that have earned ARM Institute Endorsement will have aligned listings on Credential Engine that showcase their Endorsement. ARM Endorsement evaluates programs and recognizes those that are proven to provide program participants with the skills they need for manufacturing careers working with robotics.
“The ARM Institute is thrilled to work more closely with Credential Engine to help job and education seekers easily understand and access career pathways and education options for the future,” noted Lisa Masciantonio, ARM Institute Chief Workforce Officer, “Credential Engine is a critical component of the ecosystem needed to help employers and workers navigate the ever-changing landscapes of work, skills, and education.”
“Growing industries, such as advanced robotics manufacturing, can demonstrate what’s possible for students and workers when employers and credential providers use competency frameworks,” said Scott Cheney, CEO, Credential Engine. “We’re thrilled to now be working directly with the ARM Institute and their members. Their connections spanning industry, government, and academia is invaluable, and will help us all provide the public with better career pathway information.”
About the ARM Institute
The ARM (Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing) Institute is a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense under Agreement Number W911NF-17-3-0004 and is part of the Manufacturing USA® network. The ARM Institute leverages a unique, robust, and diverse ecosystem of 330+ consortium members and partners across industry, academia, and government to make robotics, autonomy, and artificial intelligence more accessible to U.S. manufacturers large and small, train and empower the manufacturing workforce, strengthen our economy and global competitiveness, and elevate national security and resilience. Based in Pittsburgh, PA since 2017, the ARM Institute is leading the way to a future where people & robots work together to respond to our nation’s greatest challenges and to produce the world’s most desired products. For more information, visit www.arminstitute.org and follow the ARM Institute on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About Credential Engine
Credential Engine is a non-profit whose mission is to map the credential landscape with clear and consistent information, fueling the creation of resources that empower people to find the pathways that are best for them. Credential Engine has partnerships in 28 states and regions, and across 2 regional consortia of states. Learn more at www.credenginedev.wpengine.com.