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Customized Training—PMA Delivers

September 23, 2024
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PMA has evolved its custom-training offerings—available at discounted rates to members and also available to nonmember companies—to provide greater variety and greater depth, according to Connie King, PMA’s workforce development director.
“In the past, we’ve primarily focused on tool and die, and stamping,” she says. “Our members have a variety of training needs beyond these, including newer members performing fabricating processes. We are expanding our offerings to meet these varied needs.”

Experienced Training Roster

3-Dean-Phillips-in-Plant-Training-Small-PartsPMA’s inhouse expert trainers include Dean Phillips, director of technical training, who joined the organization last year with extensive experience in stamping and related process control, as well as fabrication processes. Scott Reig, PMA’s workforce development technical manager, brings decades of tooling and stamping experience. And, Pete Ulintz, who recently retired from full-time PMA training work and remains the author of MetalForming’s monthly Tooling By Design column, also contributes training services. 

“Beyond PMA staff, we’re expanding partnerships—bringing in other organizations to perform technical training in other fields such as welding,” King explains. “With PMA incorporating and  vetting training partners, potential training users need not hunt around for multiple vendors and vet them themselves. As Phillips often says, the silver tsunami is coming—older, experienced employees retiring, leaving manufacturers to train up younger, less-experienced employees.”

Toward that end, PMA is incorporating more Train the Trainer sessions, according to King, to enable more effective knowledge transfer from older to newer employees.

In addition, “we’ve found a huge need for hands-on custom training,” King says. “Sometimes, in-plant training is needed where only simulated training won’t do the job. We have excellent simulated training via our METALFORM EDU courses that provide foundational information. We’re starting to incorporate METALFORM EDU training with hands-on customized training as a package deal to deliver the most effective solutions.”

Get the Training Ball Rolling

How can metal formers and fabricators best go about setting up customized training through PMA?

“Interested companies can reach out in many ways,” King says. “Via the PMA website—www.pma.org—they can access a request form under the Training tab. Our staff will follow up and get the ball rolling. A phone call to PMA, 216/901-8800, or email to workforce@pma.org also will begin the process.”

What happens next?

“PMA has a bench of training partners, with various specialties, to choose from,” King says. “From there we can reach out to find the specific skills needed in line with what a customer requests.”

A training-needs analysis helps immensely at this point.

“A member of our training staff will visit a company for a day or so to provide that analysis—viewing processes and meeting with key personnel. This provides clues to gaps in knowledge and how to best provide knowledge transfer. From there, we develop a specific training plan. Does METALFORM EDU online training meet the needs? Is a combination of in-plant training and METALFORMING EDU the best route? Should we incorporate Train the Trainer packages to take advantage of experienced employees? We customize a solution based on the needs analysis, aligning training to address the knowledge gaps. This isn’t cookie cutter; its customized to a company’s specific needs.”

Why Go With PMA?

PMA’s knowledge of metal forming processes and its stable of inhouse and partner expertise in an array of processes provide a powerful combination that sets it apart for other training solutions on the market, according to King.

“The metal forming industry counts on PMA to support its workforce development needs, and we’ve accumulated a wealth of experience and expertise to do just that,” she says. “And, partnering with organizations such as the National Institute of Metalworking Skills, with its standardized training processes, adds to our capabilities. We have a knowledgeable and unique perspective that can fulfill users’ training objectives.”

Industry-Related Terms: Die, Form, Forming, Transfer, Forming
View Glossary of Metalforming Terms

 

See also: Precision Metalforming Association

Technologies: Training

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