The Value of Training Committees

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IPC APEX EXPO 2023 is right around the corner and the training groups are assiduously preparing for these meetings. IPC certification programs, built around IPC standards, play a key role in bringing value to the electronics industry. They are created and approved by training committees consisting of subject matter experts and trainers from around the world.

Committee members volunteer their time and expertise to improve the existing standards-based certification programs and to develop new programs based on industry needs. These committees support the IPC Education Team in developing, updating, and maintaining the training program materials, and provide industry expertise to the development, evaluation, and revision of the certification program.

There are few exciting activities for this year’s training committee meetings.

Our first is the Training Programs Advisory Committee (TPAC) meeting on Monday, Jan. 23. At the beginning of each year, TPAC members review each training program committee’s successes and challenges over the previous 12 months and discuss plans for the next 12 months. This will be followed by the election of new committee leaders. TPAC leaders serve two-year terms which expire in January at IPC APEX EXPO. Voting will take place during the meeting and the new leaders will be announced by the end of the meeting.

This year, four certification training committees will be revising CIT and CIS training materials to reflect the revisions to IPC/WHMA-A-620, IPC-7711/21, IPC-A-600, IPC-A-610, and IPC-6012:

IPC/WHMA-A-620 (7-31FT) Certification Training Committee: Members are currently reviewing revisions to the training materials for the 620E certification program. We are thrilled to be working on a yet another revision of the program that not only incorporates the changes in the standard but also enhances the content and overall course design, making it both more attractive and effective to both students and trainers. We are looking forward to publishing the 620E course in Spring 2023. The first full committee meeting is on Monday, Jan. 23.

IPC-A-610 (7-31BT) Certification Training Committee: Members meet on Tuesday, Jan. 24 to disposition user comments and follow up on open action items in preparation for the next revision of the IPC-610 standard in 2024.

IPC-7711/21 (7-34T) Certification Training Committee: Members are working on a major revamp of the program. This program has not been revised since 2017. The committee is evaluating the content as well as the relevance of the procedures for the course. The first full meeting of the year is on Wednesday, Jan. 25.

IPC-A- 600 (7-31AT) and IPC-6012 (D-33AT) Certification Training Committees: This is a joint meeting at IPC APEX EXPO to discuss how they will collaborate on the revision of the IPC-600 and IPC-6012 training materials. The meeting is on Wednesday, Jan. 25.

J-STD-001 Certification Training Committee (5-22BT): Members are working on improvements, comment resolutions, and action items. This committee will also disposition J-STD-001 Space Addendum user comments. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 25.

About the Committees

The TPAC committee advises and supports the IPC Education Team with the development, maintenance, and implementation of standards-based certification training programs. This committee also reviews proposals for new certification training programs and advises IPC on scope, feasibility, development, and implementation. TPAC members also advise and support IPC to ensure compliance with that IPC standards-based certification programs comply with national and international standards and relevant accreditation requirements.

If you would like to join an IPC standards-based certification training committee, please send an email to zenaidavalianu@ipc.org for more information.

Zenaida Valianu is training manager at IPC.

This article originally appeared in the December 2022 issue of SMT007 Magazine.