With the UK predicted to make £4.7billion worth of investment into robotics by 2021, the qualification has been introduced to help meet the anticipated demand of advanced manufacturing.
Rita Davey, skills programme manager at Jaguar Land Rover, added: “We identified a skills gap around robotics and automation and needed a dedicated qualification to support engineers as robotics becomes a greater presence of UK industry. We’ve brought in our supply chain partners to help develop the new certificate so that it meets the needs of SMEs and is useful to the wider engineering and manufacturing sector.”
EAL has said that the certificate will allow engineers to install and repair robotic machinery themselves and not rely on robotic manufacturers.
The qualification is said to include the installation and maintenance of robotics, programmable logic controllers, process optimisation and innovation in automation.
Alison Parkes, managing director at EAL, said: “This qualification is critical to meet the UK’s future skills needs in robotics as robots become a regular part of the workplace. It gives companies independence in managing their systems and will undoubtedly save time and money as well as enhancing productivity.
“We had many of the UK’s leading automotive supply chain companies involved in the development to ensure this qualification meets business needs. The qualification is relevant for a wide range of sectors that are using robotics – from retail to aircraft manufacturing to food processing – and not just for the big players. It’s been designed for any small business with an automated process.”
