91ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ÎÛ

Siemens has launched a new workforce development program for secondary and technical schools in the United States called L.E.A.P., the Lifelong Educational Advantage Program. Made available through Siemens Cooperates with Education (SCE), the effort is designed to give high school and technical school graduates basic to advanced machine tool knowledge that will benefit them in their future careers as CNC machinists.

L.E.A.P. starts with Sinutrain, a PC-based, control-identical training system. This software can turn a PC screen into an exact representation of the Sinumerik Operate graphical user interface. The numeric kernel (NC) that drives Sinutrain also powers the Sinumerik 828D and 840D sl controls. All courses can thus be taught on a PC.

Through L.E.A.P., Siemens offers students and educators:

• PC-based training system using Sinutrain
• Same human-machine interface (HMI), setup and simulation screens as actual machine controls
• Full basic-through-advanced CNC learning
• Modular content customized to curriculum
• Free instruction training, support and certification
• Hardware simulators

As part of the program, Siemens provides training courses in milling and turning. Each of the courses is divided into levels with prerequisites. Each course level receives a complete curriculum, which includes both classroom and hands-on training models. Upon successful completion of each level, students receive Siemens L.E.A.P. certifications.

“Currently, STEM jobs are growing at 1.7 times the rate of non-STEM jobs,” says Brian Hamilton, CNC education manager at Siemens Industry Inc. “Employers need graduates who are more than basic machine operators for basic parts cutting.” Siemens offers the instructional content and support. In partnership with machine tool builders such as Emco, Romi, Index, Knuth and others, Siemens intends to address the need for skilled manufacturing labor by preparing students for a career in the job shop or production department environments.

Once an educational institution is enrolled in the SCE program, a site assessment will determine which L.E.A.P. program best fits participating school needs. Assistance with the installation of the Sinutrain software package as well as scheduling for instructor training and certification are available.