September 13, 2018
Education, education, education” is a phrase we have heard since our school days, which for some of us was a long, long time ago. But I firmly believe that it is now more relevant than ever in a world that is seeing rapid change and in an industry that has been transformed from a largely unskilled or semiskilled workforce to a multiskilled and flexible workforce, as required by today’s demands.
Back in the early days of corrugated, a maintenance supervisor was a person who typically ordered supplies, changed bearings, and oiled and cleaned machinery. Today, the maintenance technician needs to be capable of getting into the new equipment PLCs, changing codes, dealing with robots, etc. All these functions require a higher level of skills or a complete re-education of the existing workforce, which is a daunting task.
AICC has always made education a high priority among its numerous industry missions, but in April of last year, AICC elevated this by offering all its online educational courses to its members for free to ensure that these important lesson plans are used and that there is no cost barrier to ongoing learning and re-education. The reaction from the industry to the free education has been incredible. Clearly, AICC members are focusing heavily on training and retraining as a method of recruiting new employees and retaining existing employees, and AICC courses are clearly becoming an integral part of the curriculum. My message to you members out there is to take full advantage of these courses and make sure that you recognize each employee who graduates through them. Employee recognition is almost more important than a pay raise these days, although a structured system that rewards course completion with modest monetary increases will certainly be attractive to new or existing employees.
In addition to AICC’s traditional education courses, there is now a new initiative called “AICC Education Investors,” through which Associate companies are now developing materials that focus on their particular areas of expertise and using third-party groups to translate this into fun and interesting content. There are currently two courses completed in this area and three or four courses currently in the development stage. All of these are from the most highly respected suppliers within the corrugated industry.
There is no doubt that an educated employee is a valuable employee and that an employee is far more likely to stay with a company if the company is investing in higher education and wants their employees to better themselves. So, please take full advantage of AICC’s free online courses and help to create a smarter workforce for the future.
Dave Burgess is North American sales director at JB Machinery and vice Chair of AICC’s Associate Board.
