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April 2022 Issue of PCB007 Magazine Available Now
April 18, 2022 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: 1 minute
For the past few years, industry analysts have been talking about the need for fabricators to “upskill” their employees to be ready for the technologies of tomorrow. The Smart factory and Industry 4.0—not to mention the ramping-up of AI—are just a few reasons that your staff members really need to be continuing their education throughout their careers.
But upskilling is more than a fancy-sounding idea. In today’s labor market, fabrication management may not have any other alternatives than to make the best of the employees they have right now. That, and pray that none of the subject matter experts retire in the meantime.
It's certainly a good time to be adding tools to your toolbox of skills. As the Smart factory and Industry 4.0 lead the drive to replace more humans with technology, the need for humans who are trained to manage AI-optimized systems will increase exponentially. A lot of the software used to fabricate and assemble PCBs contains AI or machine learning—it just operates in the background, learning as it works.
But what's the best way to upskill your employees? Several managers we spoke with said that they don’t have time to take staff off the shop floor for training sessions. Your best bet is to incentivize employees to continue their education and training on their own time, but how do you make that happen?
This is advice you’ll turn to again and again.
Preview or download your PDF copy today on the virtual newsstand or subscribe here for delivery in your e-mailbox.
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IPC Standards: Ticket to a Safe Passage
10/26/2023 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamJohn Watson, CID, is a customer success manager with Altium who also teaches PCB design at Palomar College in Carlsbad, California. He’s noticed that most of his students are primarily new to the industry and not familiar with IPC standards. In his classes, he teaches how to use these standards while trying to help students access the documents more easily. When we met with John, we asked him to discuss the importance of understanding IPC standards, the price you’ll pay if you decide not to follow them, and his plans for getting new designers on board with standards as early as possible in their careers.