Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1453746
34 PCB007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2022 LaBeau: e U.S. Partnership for Assured Elec- tronics (USPAE) is also gaining traction and playing an important role in providing the DoD with an interface to industry experts and channeling program funding. USPAE lead- ership provides expert guidance, advice, and opportunities to meet other organizations and people from the industry and government who are working to solve the same problems. e DoD's Executive Agent for PCB and Elec- tronic Interconnect Technology is also provid- ing leadership at a critical time for the indus- try. Aer two challenging decades for the PCB industry, the uptick of activities of these and other organizations is a good sign. Matties: Yes, I agree. Brassard: IPC continues to be that driving force to bring everything together, build a resil- ient electronics ecosystem, and move the U.S. toward Factory of the Future. eir govern- ment relations team serves a vital and expand- ing role in providing expertise and guidance to the U.S. government, where lawmakers need to be informed and educated about the necessity of having a strong electronics manufacturing indus- try in the United States and how to get there. Matties: Back in the IBM and RCA days, most of the R&D was coming out of the captive OEMs. When we went to job shops, what hap- pened to the R&D? LaBeau: I'll let you in on a little secret. Most early-career engineers do not want to work in a job shop, at least the ones who are graduat- ing from universities these days. ey have no desire to do build to print. at is just not inno- vative or interesting. Our simple idea of want- ing to attract and retain the best people has, in large, part fueled our desire to increase our technical know-how, which eventually took us to adopting additive and other forward-think- ing technologies. We also believe this is a great corporate strategy to find niche markets and develop a meaningful future. Matties: You're talking about a cultural shi in the way that you're running your business to do this, though. Brassard: Making meaningful cultural changes within an organization is challenging. For as much progress as our company has made in the past decade, we face cultural challenges every day as we identify where we need to go, the milestones we must accomplish to get there, and the behaviors we need to exhibit to be successful. We are still work- ing toward achieving our cultural goals and look forward to the explosive growth that can come from the right culture in a high demand market. LaBeau: Because semi-additive and additive technologies are relatively new fields in the United States, young engineers have an oppor- tunity to get in on the ground floor, so to speak. is is an inroad for young engineers. Matties: Well, I agree, because the more we're looking at the hiring and training issue— the gap that's in our industry—one of the things that we always bring up is we're com- peting against all these other industries for workforce that are more challenging, more appealing. Being a job shop, a print-to-order thing, is not that exciting. is creates big hiring challenges. The DoD's Executive Agent for PCB and Electronic Interconnect Technology is also providing leadership at a critical time for the industry.