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IPC Focuses on Education and Onboarding
May 9, 2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 2 minutes

I recently spoke with Carlos Plaza, senior director of education for IPC, about expanding educational efforts in the PCB design, fabrication, and assembly segments. As Carlos explains, PCB design is a hot topic, but onboarding may be the hottest one of all.
Andy Shaughnessy: Carlos, as IPC’s senior director of education, I know you’ve been busy preparing for IPC APEX EXPO. Why don’t you give me a brief overview of what that entails?
Carlos Plaza: Sure. As the senior director of education, I work with industry experts and IPC learning specialists to help identify and meet the training and certification needs of our members. That’s my job in a nutshell. Certification is an essential part of the workforce training equation. Customers should be confident that their boards are being fabricated and assembled by personnel who have demonstrated their ability to adhere to IPC standards, particularly for high precision and reliability applications.
However, a few years ago, we discovered that there were many new employees having a hard time getting certified because they didn’t know the terminology, materials, or processes and tools used to build and assemble PCBs and wire harnesses. Of course, when you think about it, it doesn't make much sense to teach someone about the criteria that apply to things like turrets, conductors, and annular rings if they don't know what they are and how they're used.
That’s why we created workforce training programs: to help people acquire the knowledge and skills they need to do the job of an operator, a technician, or an engineer. Once they’ve learned to build, assemble, and inspect Class 2 and 3 boards, they’re ready for certification. That’s the sequence. You don't take the bar exam to learn about law; you take it to validate what you learned in law school.
What does IPC workforce training encompass? We said we would create training for industry job roles. How do you perform the job of an operator, a technician, an inspector, an engineer, a program manager, or a PCB designer? Those are the major disciplines, and there are sub-levels as well. The engineer could be a manufacturing engineer or a production engineer. One operator might focus on hands-on soldering, and another could operate a reflow oven on an SMT line. A third operator could be doing rework and repair. We dedicated ourselves to the saying, “Let's find the jobs that are the most critical and start filling in those gaps.” In the process, we discovered that onboarding was the most critical point.
To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the April 2024 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
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Creating Connections in Mexico
07/30/2025 | Michelle Te, Community MagazineA concerted effort by the Global Electronics Association—Mexico team over the past year has created inroads for the Global Electronics Association (formerly IPC) with leading electronics companies, government offices, and academic institutions in Mexico. “Our goal is to bring more awareness to what the Global Electronics Association is and what it offers,” says Lorena Villanueva, senior director. “We also aim to increase our membership. Of 3,200 members of the Global Electronics Association, only 180 are in Mexico.”
Powering Progress: Summer 2025 Community Magazine Now Available
07/22/2025 | Community MagazineIn the new Summer 2025 edition of Community Magazine, members of the Global Electronics Association demonstrate what progress really looks like—through innovation on the factory floor, influence on public policy, and investment in the next generation of engineers.
TRI to Exhibit at SMTA Queretaro Expo 2025
07/16/2025 | TRITest Research, Inc. (TRI), the leading provider of test and inspection systems for the electronics manufacturing industry, is pleased to announce plans to exhibit at the SMTA Querétaro Expo 2025, scheduled to take place on July 24, 2025, at the Querétaro Centro de Congresos y Teatro Metropolitano.
Global PCB Connections: Let the Spec Fit the Board, Not Just the Brand
07/17/2025 | Jerome Larez -- Column: Global PCB ConnectionsIf you’ve ever seen an excellent PCB quote delayed, or worse, go cold because of a single line on the fab print, you’re not alone. Often, that line reads something like, “Use 370HR only,” or “IT-180A required.” These and other brand-name materials are proven performers, but unless your design needs that specific resin system (say, for RF performance, thermal reliability, or stringent CAF resistance), you may inadvertently be holding your job hostage.
IPC Hall of Fame Spotlight Series: Highlighting Lionel Fullwood
07/15/2025 | Dan Feinberg, I-Connect007Many IPC members who have contributed significantly to IPC and our industry have been awarded the IPC Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame (HOF) Award. Though many early HOF members have passed away and are unknown to today’s IPC membership, their contributions still resonate. This special series on IPC Hall of Fame members provides a reminder of who was honored and why. As a bonus, for those who are still around, we get to find out what these talented individuals are up to today.