"Chariho Electrical Students Tour Automation Firm as Industry Demand Surges"

Last Updated: 2026-05-29T03:59:04.286-04:00

Field Trip: Chariho Electrical Technology students explore careers in industrial automation

WESTERLY — Chariho Career and Technical Center's Electrical Technology class visited an automation company in Westerly, ProSystems Integration, on Wednesday to give students a look at career opportunities in the industrial side of the field.

A former student of the class, Chariho alumnus and engineer at ProSystems Jesse Brunelle, alongside his father, John, president and owner of ProSystems Integration, gave the students safety glasses and walked them through the Tom Harvey Road facility, explaining what multiple machines do and their purposes.

They explained that the industry is heavily driven by customer demand, with a wide variety of systems designed for different applications. These projects range from equipment used to make medical tubing for hospitals, to automated systems for companies such as Hershey Chocolate and Krispy Kreme. For a more local example, Brunelle said the company has also developed control systems for the Mystic River Bascule Bridge in the past.

Jesse said he wanted to get the students out of the mindset of thinking they can only do ‘electrical work’ if they want to be electricians - it’s a much more varied career than students may initially believe.

Chariho Career and Technical Center’s Electrical Technology class instructor Ryan Northup, who has more than 20 years of experience in the electrical industry, explained why it is important for students to gain real-world experience in events like this.

“It gives them some foreground of what we’re doing in class and a perfect real-world application: we do have a module about industrial motor controls, and now they can actually envision some of what they were working on,” Northup said. “The other aspect is the inspiration, because something like this may inspire a particular student that will say, ‘Hey, that was really cool, I want to start getting into that.’”

Easy migration: ”It was done in two minutes”

When Level Automation was about to upgrade the control in its automation cabinets from the Simatic S7-1200 to the next generation control system, the Simatic S7-1200 G2, the migration went faster than anyone had expected.

– It took two minutes. It was almost ridiculously easy, says the company's owner Martin Ozols.

With the Simatic S7-1200 G2, the process is basically automated, thanks to the new migration tool, an add-in to the automation platform TIA Portal.

– You do a readiness check and get two Excel reports, one that shows the hardware's closest counterpart and one that shows what in the program can be migrated. In the past, you had to look up all that yourself, but now everything is automatically suggested. It saves a huge amount of time.

The new Simatic S7-1200 G2 family is certified according to the cybersecurity standard IEC 62443, an important piece of the puzzle due to the increased requirements of the NIS2 Directive for socially important activities.

– Many municipalities have barely begun to set requirements based on NIS2 yet. They often think that it is enough to buy a "NIS2-rated machine". But NIS2 is about risk analysis and processes. However, it feels reassuring that our automation cabinets are now at the forefront, says Martin Ozols.

With the Simatic S7-1200 G2, some solutions can be cheaper, such as new I/O cards with more channels. The new generation also takes up less space on the DIN rail and is more powerful.

After PLC migration, the panels are next. Level Automation will move to Simatic WinCC Unified.

10 Companies Hiring Electrical Engineers

A lot of the technology getting the most investment right now depends on electrical engineering. The data centers powering artificial intelligence need more efficient chips and power systems that won’t bankrupt the surrounding area, electric vehicles depend on battery and motor-control hardware to stay running, and never-before-seen levels of automation are rolling about factory floors. At the same time, billions of dollars are being poured into semiconductor manufacturing and infrastructure to keep up with both the compute power and electricity required to meet rising demand.

Today, electrical engineers earn a median annual salary of about $118,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Below are some of the most active employers hiring electrical engineers right now.

Top Companies Hiring Electrical Engineers

Post Electric Expands Home Automation and Smart Technology Integration Services

Post Electric, a licensed electrical contractor serving Southwest Missouri, announces the expansion of its residential electrical services to include comprehensive home automation and smart technology integration capabilities. The expansion addresses growing demand from homeowners seeking to modernize their electrical systems and incorporate connected home technologies.

The enhanced service offerings come after an 18-month period during which the company experienced increased requests for electrical upgrades and smart home installations. Post Electric has invested in advanced diagnostic equipment and expanded its technical expertise to serve homeowners throughout the region, particularly those with properties built before 1990 that require significant electrical infrastructure updates.

“The residential electrical landscape has evolved dramatically over the past few years, with homeowners increasingly interested in smart home technologies and energy-efficient solutions,” said Ryan, Master Electrician at Post Electric. “Our expanded services allow us to provide comprehensive electrical system evaluations and implement customized upgrade solutions that meet the modern electrical demands of today’s households.”

Jobs AI can’t replace yet: What a new report finds

At a time when conversations around artificial intelligence are often dominated by job loss fears, a new April 2026 report offers a more layered reality. It shows that while some parts of the workforce are highly exposed to automation, others remain firmly rooted in human capability.

The study by construction scheduling platform Planera focuses on physical and manual professions, and the numbers reveal a clear divide. Emergency services have the lowest average automation risk at 11%, followed by social services at 12% and healthcare at 16%. These sectors rely heavily on human judgment, empathy, and real-time response, making them far harder to replace.

But the deeper data shows how sharply the risk rises in other parts of the economy. Agriculture leads with an 89% automation risk, followed by production at 82%, utilities at 81%, and retail at 80%.

Against this backdrop, the least automatable jobs stand out even more sharply. Emergency medical technicians top that list with just a 7% risk.

Firefighters follow at 9%, reinforcing the strength of emergency services overall. The sector’s average risk of 11% is significantly lower than industries like repair and maintenance at 37% or construction at 38%. Healthcare social workers come in at 12%, where empathy and communication remain central to the job.

Police officers and sheriff’s patrol officers also rank among the most secure at 13%.

Among the trades, electricians stand out with a 14% automation risk and strong demand growth. The report highlights that this role sits at the intersection of low automation risk and rising necessity, especially as infrastructure evolves.

An automation expert from Planera captured this shift, saying, “Low automation risk and growing demand are a rare combination in today’s job market, but electricians have both, as do many construction trades. The electrician shortage is projected to worsen through 2026, with over 80K new positions expected nationally, driven by aging infrastructure, EV charging networks, and the energy transition. The irony is that AI data centers, the very technology driving automation fears, need electricians to get built and kept running. That’s about as future-proof as a job can get.”

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