Become an Industry Advisor
Sparks fly. Metal crunches. Robots go to war. The National Robotics League (NRL) is a combat robotics program from the National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA)—and it’s a surefire way to pique students’ interest in technology, math and engineering. For the manufacturers who become NRL Industry Advisors, the excitement of competition is just the beginning; they’ll help create passionate, skilled future job candidates.
We are looking for Industry Advisors to help reverse the shortage of skilled workers through NRL Colorado.
NRL Colorado is a program sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Tooling & Machining Association as part of its workforce development initiative.
Few youth have the chance to see first-hand the opportunities, career paths and successful role models in the manufacturing sector. The result? A critical shortage of skilled manufacturing workers.
On top of that, manufacturing technologies and workforce realities are changing at an unprecedented rate— and our current education and training systems struggle (and sometimes fail) to keep up.
We need a way to bridge the gap between in-school training and real-world experience. And that’s where you come in.
How Can You Help?
When manufacturers like you step up to the plate, it helps build a skilled, enthusiastic and adaptable employee pipeline.
As an Industry Advisor, you’re not only making a difference in the lives of students—you’re creating your own personal workforce development program.
The success of the NRL Colorado depends on willing Industry Advisors/Mentors like you from local manufacturing companies.
Benefits of Becoming an Industry Advisor
- Build your own pipeline of skilled manufacturing workers and improve the recruitment of new workers.
- Identify, use and reward untapped resources within your current workforce—enhance their skills and reinvigorate existing employees.
- Influence curriculum
- enhancements at schools to increase instructional effectiveness.
- Create community goodwill and positive PR.
- Ultimately reduce hiring and training costs.
Why you?
The success of the NRL depends on willing Industry Advisors/Mentors like you from local manufacturing companies.
Only with your help are participating schools able to expose students to years of expertise and a real-world manufacturing environment.
If you decide to participate, you’ll designate one or more of your employees to fulfill the duties of technical advisor, which include the following over the next 6 months:
- Meeting with the team to assist with the design and planning
- Assisting the team in the process of building the ‘bot; this could include machining parts, welding, etc., and/or training the students to accomplish these tasks; it can also include introducing them to other manufacturing companies and/or vendors
- Explaining the importance of documentation in the manufacturing process; provide real-life examples so the students can understand why documentation is a critical component of the project
- Taking the students on a tour of your facility and creating opportunities for them to interact with your employees to learn about the benefits of working in manufacturing
- Providing the team with access to raw materials (through your excess materials or your suppliers)
Time Commitment: It will vary depending on the needs of the students. Could be 6 hours of instruction/discussion/tour opportunities and 0-30 hours of machining, depending on the school’s capabilities.
Resources
Click below to view all resources, including Team Resource Guide, Technical Regulations, Safety Inspection Checklist & more!
If you would like information on becoming and Industry Advisor? Please email nrlcolorado@rmtma.org or complete this form.