Bausch + Lomb launches robotics apprenticeship to build advanced manufacturing workforce

Listen to this article

When Bausch + Lomb needed skilled workers to maintain the growing number of automated production lines at its Rochester manufacturing campus, the company decided to build its own pipeline of talent. 

The global eye health company partnered with Monroe Community College and The Manufacturers Association of Central New York (MACNY) to establish a new Robotics Technician apprenticeship through the New York State Department of Labor, aimed at developing the highly skilled workforce needed to support increasingly advanced manufacturing operations. 

While Bausch + Lomb participates in other apprenticeship programs, the initiative marks the company’s first robotics-focused apprenticeship. 

Travis Fisher, engineering manager at Bausch + Lomb, said the company’s latest production lines rely heavily on robotics and automation, increasing demand for technicians with specialized maintenance and troubleshooting expertise. 

“It takes a lot of work to keep those lines up and running,” Fisher said. “We needed a certain skillset that is being developed through this program, helping meet a critical need.” 

Interest in the program has been strong. Fisher said the first cohort is already underway, with a waiting list forming for future groups. Participants range from recent high school graduates to employees with more than two decades of manufacturing experience seeking to expand their technical skills. 

Fisher credited the company’s partnerships with MCC, the Finger Lakes Workforce Development Center (FWD) and MACNY for helping bring the program to life, from securing funding opportunities to designing the training curriculum. 

Matt Place, executive director of Rochester operations, said the apprenticeship program also creates a clear career development pathway for current employees interested in advancing within the company. 

The program benefits the company as well as the community, he added.  

The two-year program includes 4,000 hours of on-the-job training, including Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) expertise and robotics maintenance.  Additional hours are logged at the FWD Center at MCC’s downtown campus for related instruction. 

Apprentices are paid Bausch + Lomb employees who receive company benefits while completing the program, and, upon completion, earn a journeyman card through the state Department of Labor. 

Siva Visveswaran said development of the program began more than two years ago, as Bausch + Lomb
identified a growing need for skilled workers to support its increasingly automated operations.

Given the company’s previous collaboration with the FWD Center and the center’s expertise in skilled trades apprenticeship programs, partnering on the initiative was a natural fit, Visveswaran said.

The workforce investment comes as Rochester continues to play a significant role in Bausch + Lomb’s long-term manufacturing strategy.

The company’s North Goodman Street facility manufactures hundreds of millions of contact lenses annually for patients worldwide and is expected to support the company’s expanding contact lens portfolio in the years ahead. 

The 1.1-million-square-foot campus spans 57 acres on Rochester’s northeast side and employs roughly 1,165 people locally. Globally, the company employs roughly 13,000 people and operates in nearly 100 countries. 

In 2021, Bausch + Lomb completed a 115,000-square-foot expansion at the Rochester site, adding production lines for its INFUSE Multifocal silicone hydrogel daily disposable lenses. 

As automation continues to reshape manufacturing, Fisher said the demand for skilled robotics and maintenance technicians is only expected to increase. 

“Things aren’t getting less automated,” he said. 

[email protected] / (585) 653-4021