Do-it-yourself schooling teaches specialized skills

System integrator Enterprise Automation developed its EA University program to train new staff about controls, contracting, designs, configurations, testing, deployment and maintenance

Jim Montague

Aug. 25, 2026

4 min read

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Key Highlights

Process control professionals require skills beyond traditional engineering curricula, necessitating specialized training programs.
EA University offers a five-week immersive experience with mock projects, real equipment and client interactions to develop practical control system skills.
Training covers PLC programming, SCADA software, project management and soft skills like client communication and teamwork.

Figure 2: After developing HMI/SCADA screens for their process application, they’re tested by (l. to r.) Cain Chen, controls engineer I, Atticus Binder, controls engineer I, and Joseph Pallan, controls engineer II, as part of their EA University program.

Because process control professionals need to learn so many skills that aren’t taught in colleges and universities, many employers must develop training programs to train new personnel in activities they’ll be required to practice in the field.

Speaking as a relatively recent graduate, Joseph Pallan, controls engineer II at Enterprise Automation, reports that he graduated from U.C. San Diego two years ago with a mechanical engineering degree. During his time there, he was intrigued by an EA presentation that detailed its work as a system migrator. Located in Irvine, Calif., EA is a Tetra Tech company, and is a certified member of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA).

“It seems like schools still don’t teach much about industrial control. We mostly learned about mechanical theory, which many of my friends use in typical engineering roles, such as using CAD software to design aeronautical vehicles,” says Pallan. “I was interested in EA’s presentation because they said a lot that I hadn’t heard or thought about before, such as the fact that panels and PLCs are everywhere. So, I realized that everyone requires them for everything from water/wastewater applications to producing electric cars. We all need these devices and solutions for daily living, and I wanted to be a part of producing them.”

After joining EA, Pallan began supplementing his earlier education with process controls know-how, learned that it’s essential for engineers to think critically, and continues to understand that problems, courses and other types of continuing education are vital to keep them growing. For example, his early interest in Formula 1 racing translated to learning about control hardware as a collegiate member of the Society of Automotive Engineers’ (SAE) Formula 1 program that builds and races ¼-scale cars.

“Critical thinking is necessary because, when we see problems that aren’t addressed or will need to be handled soon, those situations guide us towards what types of control will be needed and where,” explains Pallan. “We may see a mistake, and realize it should’ve been dealt with earlier. However, we may also identify upcoming challenges, and address them proactively, which is like seeing chess moves and accounting for them ahead of time. Likewise, we learned about wiring during our Formula SAE projects, but we also learned about project management and other soft skills, such as how to set up meetings and motivate groups.”

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Roll your own training

Figure 1: Using appropriate safety gear, participants in Enterprise Automation’s homegrown EA University practice conducting a mock site investigation. They include (l. to r.) Joseph Pallan, controls engineer II, Cain Chen, controls engineer I, Atticus Binder, controls engineer I, and Alec Zerza, [ex]-controls engineer I.

To instill many of these skills, Pallan reports that Enterprise Automation provides its rookies and other staffers with a five-week EA University program which has been offered for about 10 years. The class teaches fundamental control technologies and skills, but it also puts participants into mock projects with fictitious clients and sites, and works them through every stage of contracting and changes, designs and configurations, testing, deployment and maintenance (Figure 1).

“EA University was designed by our founder, so people could learn, especially recent graduates, who likely weren’t taught about PLCs in school,” adds Pallan. “The program’s mock site is a testbed at our office, which consists of two fish tanks representing a process reservoir and a larger reservoir. They can be drained, refilled and controlled using the same Schneider Electric M340 PLC and EcoStruxure Control Expert software we deploy in real projects. Participants can also interact with a hypothetical client about what they want for a project, its needs and scope, what’s available or not, and how it’s running. This shows us how to talk to clients in a consultative way.”

“We also learned how to handle client and project demands that are sometimes unrealistic, such as integrating out-of-scope requirements in just one week, which further taught us how to moderate what we promise. When I went through the class, the fictitious client wanted water on Mars, so we had to research how water works there, what rockets and payloads would be needed to deliver equipment, how to set up a generic plant, and how to extract water from the surface.”

EA University also teaches students how to program PLCs, develop HMIs and other data screens with Aveva Plant SCADA software, design workshops, coordinate with clients and contractors, test documents and procedures, run simulations, and remove bugs before onsite deployments (Figure 2).

“In the past two years, I’ve worked on actual water/wastewater projects,” adds Pallan. “These included integrating digesters, and learning Ignition web-based SCADA software.”