For any organization, investing in the education and training of your staff is a necessity. Competition is increasingly global, technology more complex, and it’s expensive to hire new people to fill jobs vacated by dissatisfied employees.
In the composites industry, there are many tangible benefits of professional development, and ACMA provides a variety of resources to help you furnish unparalleled knowledge, education and training for your staff.
Benefits of Offering Opportunities for Professional Development
Increases productivity – When your employees know what to do and are trained properly, their productivity increases.
Reduces employee turnover – Investing in your employees demonstrates your commitment to developing their skills. They tend to stay longer and contribute more to your business as a result.
Reduces the need for supervision – Untrained and under-trained employees can drain management resources and distract your best people from important tasks.
Increases your ability to leverage new technologies – When your employees are trained in new technologies, they can do their jobs better and that helps your company be more competitive in the marketplace. You can take advantage of how those technologies help your business, such as reducing costs, increasing safety, using new materials—the list goes on and on.
Increases safety and decreases work-related injury/illness – Training in health and safety reduces work-based injuries and protects the employee, which keeps insurance premiums down and protects your company from possible litigation.
Keeps employee credentials/certifications current – Maintaining these credentials is cheaper than having them expire and restarting again.
Enables employees to take on new responsibilities – Training newly-promoted employees helps your company and employees in terms of productivity, effectiveness and efficiency. They can build on current skills and share their knowledge with others on their team, assisting others in their professional development.
Increases job satisfaction, morale, and motivation – An engaged workforce is typically more productive, has less absenteeism and experiences less stress in the workplace.
How ACMA Supports Your Commitment to Professional Development
ACMA offers an extensive range of resources for education and professional development, including events, educational resources, the Certified Composites Technician (CCT) training program and more.
Conferences and Events – ACMA conferences and events offer educational opportunities for staff at every level of your organization. Employees can learn about important hot topics and best practices for the composites industry, increase their skills and expand their career goals at conferences and events held throughout the year. ACMA events also offer unparalleled opportunities for employees to engage with industry peers and thought leaders so they can expand their knowledge base and see how what they contribute fits in to the bigger picture.
Education Hub – ACMA organizations and others have access to this important resource, which means staff can explore their interests, increase their knowledge and expand their horizons. Watch recorded webinars on the latest topics related to composites, read conference proceedings, access standards and guidelines, manuals and other technical resources, and bone up on regulatory guidelines and compliance regulations.
CompositesLab – ACMA’s online destination of everything composites is a powerful multimedia reference library for entry-level and junior staff. It includes information—in plain English— on composites terminology, applications, processes and materials, and how composites stack up against competitive materials.
CCT Program – Developed by ACMA and its members, the CCT program is considered by our industry to be the gold standard for comprehensive composites manufacturing training.
- Improve production performance
- Establish technical skill baselines
- Enhance knowledge and skill levels
- Advance the technical expertise of floor workers and managers
- Enable sales people to have more effective conversations with customers
- Elevate industry standards of excellence
Participants can utilize ACMA academic hub resources to enhance learning and improve results. A list of CCT programs can be found on the ACMA Education Hub.
When you consider the benefits of professional development to the entire organization, the question should not be “Can we afford it?”, but “Can we afford not to?