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Interview by Marcy LaRont I-CONNECT007 As the business landscape evolves, quanti- fying the effectiveness of training programs is crucial to rationalizing and securing ongoing investment, effectively addressing workforce challenges, and, most importantly, achieving the desired, tangible effects on productivity and bottom-line profitability. In this interview, Carlos Plaza of IPC and Tim Burke of Arch Systems explore the critical topic of workforce training and its ROI in the electronics manu- facturing sector, based on a newly released IPC white paper, "Maximizing Returns: e ROI of Training in Electronics Manufacturing." Marcy LaRont: Carlos, how did your team come around to an ROI discussion on work- force training? Carlos Plaza: It came from the reality that the most important factor in business is ensuring that, wherever possible, revenues increase and costs decrease. With all the pressures on busi- ness today, this has never been truer. Workforce training is a constant, and busi- nesses are almost always, on some level, onboarding and training new people or upskill- ing existing workers to meet the demands of new contracts. But despite its acknowledged necessity, many businesses aren't following through on the return they are getting. How do they know their training is working? Are their costs decreasing? Are their efficiency and productivity rates increasing due to work- force training? Business requires that you tie the activity or initiative directly to revenue and bottom-line profitability. To remain competitive amidst so many The ROI of Workforce Training 88 PCB007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2025