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How a two-country bootcamp helped a cobot integrator install robots twice as fast.
A collaborative robot integrator was winning orders it couldn't install. Skillfi built the Cobot Academy, a two-track bootcamp: field specialists in the US who set up robots on factory floors, and a programming team in India who prepare every robot cell before anyone arrives on site. It's how our bootcamps work: talent trained around your real roles, wherever you need it.
Robot orders were growing, but nobody was left to install them.
The company sells and installs collaborative robots for small and mid-sized manufacturers across the Midwest, for jobs like machine tending, packing and palletising. Demand had nearly doubled in a year.
Every install depended on a handful of senior engineers who programmed the robot, built the cell and trained the customer, often all in the same week. A typical cell took three weeks from delivery to running. Customers were waiting, two had cancelled orders, and experienced robot engineers were almost impossible to hire.
We could sell robots all day. What we couldn't do was get them running on the customer's floor fast enough.
VP of Operations, client
Split the work, then train a team for each half.
Skillfi mapped every install with the senior engineers and split it in two: work that has to happen on the factory floor, and work that can be done remotely before the robot arrives. Graduates in both countries were found and screened with our fractional recruiter team.
A programming team in India
Engineering graduates in Pune trained to program and simulate each robot cell offline, so it arrives on site almost ready to run.
Field specialists in the US
Mechatronics and technical college graduates trained to mount, wire, guard, test and hand over cobots on customers' floors.
One install, two shifts
India prepares overnight and the US team installs by day, with a shared checklist and live support during every site visit.
6 months, two tracks
From six overloaded engineers to a trained team across two countries. Here's how the Cobot Academy unfolded.
- Week 1–340% moved remote
Install mapping
Every step of a typical install mapped with the senior engineers and split into on-site and remote work.
- Week 3–61,400 applicants
Sourcing in two countries
Technical colleges in the Midwest and engineering colleges in Pune, with hands-on tests and interviews.
- Month 2–410 hired
Programming track, India
A 10-week cohort of 12 on robot programming, simulation, safety settings and install documentation.
- Month 2–37 hired
Field track, cohort one
An 8-week cohort of 10 in the client's training cell, from mounting and wiring to customer handover.
- Month 4–57 hired
Field track, cohort two
A second US cohort, improved with feedback from the first installs and the senior engineers.
- Month 624 hired total
Handover
Both teams installing together, with the academy playbook handed over for future intakes.
One install, prepared overnight and finished by day
Each track learned its half of the job in depth, and both learned how to hand work to the other without anything getting lost.
Ready before it ships
- Robot programming
- Offline simulation
- Cycle time checks
A clear install pack
- Safety settings
- Wiring & layout drawings
- Site checklist
Build the cell
- Mounting & wiring
- Guarding & safety tests
- Fine-tuning on site
Customer up and running
- Operator training
- Production sign-off
- 30-day follow-up
Six months after handover
Days to install a cobot cell
So customers' robots start producing nearly two weeks sooner.
Our robots now arrive already programmed and tested. The team in Pune prepares overnight, our field crew installs by day, and our senior engineers finally have time to design the next generation of cells.
VP of Operations, clientSelling more than your team can deliver?
Our bootcamps train graduates around your real roles, in the US, offshore or both, so new hires join ready to work. Need help finding the right people in a new location? Our fractional recruiter team can fill your cohorts.
- Role mapping & work split
- Sourcing in one or more countries
- Hands-on bootcamp tracks
- Deployment & handover
30 minutes. No obligation.
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