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Information for Employers

 

Where can you find "work-ready" employees trained in the foundations of mechatronics?

 

The Sierra College mechatronics program provides students with the knowledge and skills that are the basis for all jobs in mechatronics. We teach the fundamentals of electronics, mechanics and computer control. See a list of some of the skills we teach near the bottom of this page.

 

Over 100 local employers have hired graduates of our program. Even more telling is the fact that so many of them have come back to hire more. Sierra Pacific Lumber, Schilling Robotics, TSI Semiconductor, Ceronix, Cox & Sons, Harris & Bruno, City of Roseville, Patterson Dental, Sugar Bowl Ski Resort and many other local companies have come back and hired additional graduates after seeing how well their first Sierra College Mechatronics hire worked out. As you can see from this list, our students have the skills to work in a wide range of industries, from heavy-equipment industries like lumber mills and ski resorts, through specialized high-tech industries like underwater robots and LCD displays screens, to high-volume manufacturing like the bottling and printing industries. The skills our students learn can be applied to almost any technical job. And by being cross-trained in electronics, mechanics and computer control, our students have the wide-ranging technical skills to take ownership of problems and solve them, not just pass them off to the next person (See comments from hiring managers at the bottom of this page).

 

Our labs were recently updated, funded by over $900,000 in federal and state grants. This means that our students learn on industrial-quality equipment, the same quality sensors, motors, PLCs and other equipment used in industry. Click on the "Photo Gallery" links above for pictures of our labs and equipment.

 

Beyond basic technical training we also teach our students many of the "soft-skills" needed to be successful out in industry. Instruction and experience in safe working practices, complete and accurate documentation, clean and organized work habits, written and verbal communication skills, teamwork and methodical troubleshooting methods are an integral part of our program.

 

The list below is a basic description of the skills we teach in our program. For more information, feel free to contact us via the contact box on the home page or by phone at (916) 660-7862. We can give you more information on our program and can often help you find a graduate that is the right fit for the position you are trying to fill.

 

Click on this link to see a video featuring multiple local employers that have hired graduates from our program, giving their perspective on the quality of Sierra College Mechatronics graduates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K0J_egOGkk&t=1s

 

An abbreviated list of the skills we teach:

  • Industrial safety fundamentals (Lockout / Tagout, personal protection equipment, etc.)
  • Use of hand tools (screwdrivers, files, hammers, saws, etc.)
  • Precision measurement (calipers, micrometers, etc.)
  • Basic electricity (single phase and three phase power, AC to DC conversion, etc.)
  • Industrial wiring standards (wire guages, NEC color codes, connector types, circuit breakers, etc.)
  • Relays and contactors
  • Ladder diagrams
  • Electric motors (AC and DC) and solenoids
  • VFD control of AC motors
  • Stepper and servo motors
  • PLC programming
  • Industrial sensors (temperature, flow, capacitive, inductive, etc.)
  • NIST-traceable calibration of industrial sensors and HART digital communication
  • 4-axes robotic arm programming
  • Use of machine tools  (drill press, mill, lathe, etc.)
  • Electronic soldering skills, including surface mount technology
  • Fundamentals of technical drafting
  • Basic sheet-metal work (shears, brakes, punches, bend allowances, etc.)
  • Voltage, current and resistance relationships for AC and DC circuits
  • Applications of transistors and integrated circuits in both analog and digital circuits
  • Proper use of electronic measurement equipment (voltmeters, oscilloscopes, clamp-on ammeters, etc)
  • Closed-loop industrial control systems, including DtoA and AtoD conversion as well as PID loop control
  • Basic pnuematics and hydraulics (schematics, computer simulation and actual hands-on system implementation)
  • Computer repair and upgrade (hardware install,operating system install, hard-drive backup and recovery, etc.)
  • Microcontroller programming and hardware interface techniques


Interested in hosting an internship? 

Having an intern at your business can be a great way to fill a short-term project staffing need or to "test-drive" a potential full-time employee. Internships are short-term employment (a few weeks to a few months, full or part-time) that provide the student with valuable work experience and your business with an enthusiastic, hard-working employee to help supplement your full-time workforce. Many of our employers are so heppy with their intern that they offer them permanent employment upon graduation, knowing in advance exactly what kind of employee they are getting. Please contact us for more information about hosting an intern at your business.  



Employer Feedback About Our Graduates:

"We wanted to let you a piece of very good news all around. We have hired one of your students as an Electronic Technician. To a person, our team here was tremendously impressed with the caliber of the Sierra candidates and we look forward to working together in the future. 

 - G. Holden - Human Resources Department, Telefunken/TSI Semiconductor (formerly NEC)


"We have hired graduates from your program with great success. We have also had one of our Service Technicians that enrolled in your program after joining Patterson and it has helped him and Patterson so much."

 - A. Anaya - Service Manager, Patterson Dental Equipment


"I would like to commend you on how well you do to prepare the students for the industry. The students I have hired that have gone though your program far surpass the students I have hired through other colleges and engineering programs."

 - L. Smith - Product Support Manager, Smartrise Elevator


"The City of Roseville, Environmental Utilities department recently lost several key maintenance staff members due to early retirement, leaving us severely short-handed at our wastewater treatment plants. The retired staff was dedicated to performing process instrument and analyzer calibration required to meet regulatory requirements. Fortunately, we had previously hired two Sierra College Mechatronics graduates, initially as interns, and recently promoted to Electronic Technicians. After only two weeks of training, our Mechatronics technicians took over the calibration duties and have maintained dozens of analyzers and instruments to required standards of accuracy and reliability. Because of the education they received at Sierra College, our new Mechatronics technicians had the foundation in place that allowed them to 'hit the ground running'."        

 - S. Gillette - Maintenance Manager, City of Roseville Water Department

 

"Sierra College Mechatronics is one of only three programs of this caliber we have found in the entire United States."

 - HR manager - Cirque du Soleil, Las Vegas

(Note: Cirque has hired two of our graduates and we are working with them to facilitate hiring more.)

         

 
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