Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1523387
56 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2024 ere is usually a small fee, $40 or $50 here or there, but it's a great investment. What helps me is just putting myself on mute, grabbing a pen and paper, and trying to retain as much information as possible. It's very important to go all the way to the end because the Q& A is really the gold of those virtual training webinars. All those questions in your head that you're maybe too nervous to ask publicly will be asked by someone else. Are you feeling confident to jump in and ask those questions now? Yes, especially because I come from outside the industry and want to make the most of every learning opportunity. I find that even though I may ask a simpler question, many others are wondering the same thing, so it provides them confidence to jump in. is helps everyone feel more comfortable. In the end we're all just here to learn. If you're working in this industry now, SMTA provides many resources to bring you up to speed and give you a voice in the industry. Let's talk about certification, which is proof of expertise and competence for your customers, for the industry, etc. What's the role of certification at ROCKA? First, there's the pat on the back, "Hey, look at us." It lets our customers know they can trust us with their challenges and that we are the properly trained company to help them. ose certifications are a badge of honor. Second, we all know hiring in this industry is probably our number one challenge. e chances of hiring someone who has all these certifications are very slim nowadays, while we've found that hiring people who come in from a different industry, like me, offers more candidates. You bring those people in on the ground level. You invest in building their body of knowledge and getting them certified. Not only do they become much better advocates for your company, but they stick around a lot longer because you made that investment in their career. Many of the industry certifications come out of the IPC organization. Are you getting IPC certifications for your staff? Yeah, absolutely. In fact, it's perfect timing for this. I just received our certificate of membership to IPC and posted it on LinkedIn. Last week, we hosted IPC trainers at our company headquarters to educate our technical staff to become trainers of IPC and earn their certificates. There is a distinction between education and certification. Certification is the test you take to prove that you have that competence. SMTA doesn't certify, but IPC puts a lot of focus on certification. How do you think those two programs collaborate? When considering what's available in the SMTA knowledge base, how does that information make certification easier? I'm a firm believer that to get the certification you're seeking, it benefits you to use the resources of SMTA to learn more about the topic at hand and become a knowledge expert. I can get all sorts of certificates, but having true knowledge of the topic is what will make you an industry expert and stand out to your customers and colleagues. To wrap up, can you share an example of how the SMTA training paid off? When you work in sales and marketing, your job is to help your customers find the answers to their questions. More oen than not, I find myself directing people to SMTA, where oentimes there are maybe three to five white papers over the past 20–30 years that answer the exact question they're looking for. Well said. Thank you, Justin. You're very welcome. SMT007