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42 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2024 the organization must act to help that person become competent, consider reassignment, or hire competent persons." 5 Certificate Programs (Training) IPC certification programs play a critical role in confirming the competency of hundreds of thousands of electronics manufacturing workers across the globe. In fact, as of 2022, certifications to the top six internationally recognized IPC standards are offered in 20 languages across 108 countries. However, there is a big difference between verifying that someone already has the skills to perform a job and helping someone acquire those skills. In 2017 and 2018, IPC interviewed over a thousand industry members across the globe to better understand their training needs. We learned that many companies were not benefitting from IPC certification programs because these are designed to measure and validate a person's current ability to understand and navigate a given standard. What they actually needed was a program designed to teach employees new knowledge and skills. In response, IPC hired a group of learning professionals, industry experts, and media specialists to develop accurate, engaging, and cost-effective training programs that teach operators, technicians, engineers, designers, and managers how to perform specific job functions to industry-defined proficiency levels. Complementary Credentials Certificate and certification programs play two distinct but reinforcing roles in workforce training and development. For example, in the IPC workforce training framework (WFT) for operators, a new employee with little or no exposure to electronics manufacturing can take the IPC Electronics Assembly for Operators course to learn the basics (e.g., documentation, component identification, soldering processes). Having acquired the relevant job-specific skills, operators who work with the IPC-A-610 or IPC-J-STD-001 standards can take the IPC-A-610 for Operators or IPC-J-STD-001 for Operators courses to get quickly up to speed. At this point, the operator is ready to complete any relevant hands-on training (e.g., hand soldering, loading component reels, operating an AOI machine) and begin working under the tutelage of an experienced employee. e operator is also ready to attend an IPC- A-610 or IPC-J-STD-001 certification program if their employer deems it necessary to validate their ability to navigate and apply one of these standards. It makes little sense to send operators to a certification program before this point in their professional development because these courses are designed for those who already have a solid grasp of the components, processes, and measures referenced in the standard. e same is true for other job roles. For example, industry members asked IPC to develop and deliver IPC Electronics Assembly for Engineers 6 because engineers new to the electronics manufacturing industry are un- familiar with the terminology and concepts discussed in an IPC standards certification program. us, like the workforce training framework for operators, the training frame- work for engineers begins with an introduction to the fundamentals before moving on to more advanced topics and, if necessary, certification. Training With the Option to Certify Some IPC training programs are designed to help individuals acquire job-related knowledge and skills and prepare them for a certification exam. For example, anyone with a basic understanding of program management can take the IPC Certified Electronics Program Manager course to grow their ability to perform this role within the fast-moving world of electronics manufacturing 7 . Students who complete the course receive a numbered certificate of achievement demonstrating satisfactory class completion. In addition, those individuals who meet the educational and