Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1518649
30 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2024 at's why we created workforce training programs: to help people acquire the knowl- edge and skills they need to do the job of an operator, a technician, or an engineer. Once they've learned to build, assemble, and inspect Class 2 and 3 boards, they're ready for certifi- cation. at's the sequence. You don't take the bar exam to learn about law; you take it to vali- date what you learned in law school. What does IPC workforce training encom- p a s s ? We s a i d w e would create training for industry job roles. How do you perform the job of an operator, a technician, an inspector, an engineer, a program man- ager, or a PCB designer? ose are the major disci- plines, and there are sub- levels as well. e engineer c o u l d b e a m a n u f a c tu r i ng e ng i n e e r o r a p r o d u c t i o n engineer. One operator might focus on hands-on soldering, and another could operate a reflow oven on an SMT line. A third operator could be doing rework and repair. We dedicated our- selves to the saying, "Let's find the jobs that are the most critical and start filling in those gaps." In the process, we discovered that onboarding was the most critical point. Why is onboarding so critical? e electronics manufacturing industry has grown quickly, and it competes with many other industries for the large number of work- ers needed to keep up with demand. Today, most new hires have zero experience on their first day. ey are fresh out of school, or maybe they were working at Starbucks on Friday and now starting at a PCB fab or assembly facility on Monday. Trainers need to onboard all these novice employees in the most efficient and effective way possible for their companies to remain competitive. at's why we first built onboarding programs like Electronics Assem- bly for Operators and Wire Harness Assembly for Operators. We understood the need, and the stakes, so our training specialists worked with industry experts to make sure that IPC workforce training programs met two impor- tant criteria. First, the content covers only what an operator needs to know to do their job to industry standards. Second, we use learning strategies that significantly increase the likeli- hood that students will apply those skills on the job, the right way every time. is combination of industry expertise and learning science is the key. It actually allows trainers to do more in less time, so it reduces train- ing costs, time to proficiency, and even rework down the line. Longtime employees are retiring every day, and we're losing our SMEs. What can we do to preserve all that know-how? When I talk to trainers, engineers, and administrators about training, there is a sense of urgency because many of their vet- eran workers are retiring and walking out the door with decades of tribal knowledge. So, we decided to meet some of those veterans at the door and ask them to work with us to share their hard-won, real-life expertise, and expe- rience with the next generation of workers. Our online instructor-led courses, like PCB Design I and II and PCB Design for Manufac- turability, are led by long-time experts in the field who really know how to talk about their areas of expertise because they love what they do. In our course surveys, students express their appreciation for these instructors and the valuable insights they provide. ese nuggets of wisdom are not found in textbooks but are immensely helpful in improving job perfor- mance. Let's find the jobs that are the most critical and start filling in those gaps.