-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueBox Build
One trend is to add box build and final assembly to your product offering. In this issue, we explore the opportunities and risks of adding system assembly to your service portfolio.
IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Pre-show
This month’s issue devotes its pages to a comprehensive preview of the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 event. Whether your role is technical or business, if you're new-to-the-industry or seasoned veteran, you'll find value throughout this program.
Boost Your Sales
Every part of your business can be evaluated as a process, including your sales funnel. Optimizing your selling process requires a coordinated effort between marketing and sales. In this issue, industry experts in marketing and sales offer their best advice on how to boost your sales efforts.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
IPC Supports U.S. House Passage of National Apprenticeship Act
February 8, 2021 | IPCEstimated reading time: 1 minute
IPC welcomes the U.S. House vote today on H.R. 447, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021. This bill would invest nearly $3.5 billion over five years to scale-up apprenticeship opportunities, streamline access to apprenticeships for workers and employers, and expand apprenticeships into new, in-demand industry sectors and occupations.
One of the most difficult challenges facing the U.S. electronics manufacturing industry is a chronic shortage of adequately skilled workers. More than two-thirds of IPC’s U.S. members report that an inability to find and retain skilled workers is limiting their growth and competitiveness. The pressure is on our industry to tap the institutional and technical knowledge of an aging workforce to train the next generation of workers, even as younger workers also learn the skills required for the factories of the future. IPC believes that the private sector is best suited to identify the occupational skills that workers need to succeed, which is why IPC works with industry to develop and provide industry training and credentialing programs.
IPC agrees with workforce experts that well-crafted apprenticeship programs offer individuals, especially those not planning to pursue higher education, an effective means of gaining the skills and mentoring necessary to thrive in certain fields, including electronics. However, the United States has failed to cultivate an environment in which apprenticeship programs flourish, except in a few industries. The current structure of the existing apprenticeship program in the United States is onerous for employers, which is a key reason why apprenticeships are not as popular in the U.S. as they are in Europe. H.R. 447 would streamline some reporting requirements, improve the registration system, and allow various program costs, including new machinery and equipment, to be included as allowable costs for all grant dollars. For these reasons, IPC supports H.R. 447, and we welcome the opportunity to work with policy makers to improve and expand industry-led education and training programs.
Suggested Items
Seeking Employment: Meet Parker Capers
04/18/2024 | Barry Matties, I-Connect007Parker Capers, a cybersecurity professional with a decade of experience in the SMT industry, earned a bachelor’s degree from DeVry and is CompTIA Security Plus certified. He is open to various industries but has a strong affinity for manufacturing due to extensive familiarity. Parker appreciates smaller companies where personal connections matter. Are you hiring?
SEMI Applauds CHIPS Program Office Progress to Diversify U.S. Semiconductor Industry Workforce
04/18/2024 | SEMIThe SEMI Foundation, the arm of SEMI dedicated to supporting economic opportunity for workers and the sustained growth of the microelectronics industry by creating pathways and opportunities for job seekers, applauded strides made by the CHIPS Program Office to diversify the U.S. semiconductor industry workforce and its release of the First Annual Report Regarding the Opportunities and Inclusion Activities Undertaken by the Department of Commerce.
VDMA: Machine Vision Navigating Through Uncertain Times
04/18/2024 | VDMAFor over a decade, the European machine vision industry has reported steady growth, with turnover increasing by an average of 9 percent annually between 2012 and 2022. Despite a temporary setback in 2020 (minus 4 percent) due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the industry rebounded strongly in 2021 (plus 17 percent) and 2022 (plus 11 percent).
IPC Bestows Posthumous Hall of Fame Award to Industry Icon Michael Ford
04/18/2024 | IPCIPC honored the late Michael Ford, Aegis Software, for his extraordinary contributions to the global electronics manufacturing industry with the IPC Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame Award at IPC APEX EXPO 2024. IPC’s most prestigious honor, the Hall of Fame Award is given to individuals who have provided exceptional service and advancement to IPC and the electronics industry. Ford, an industry leader and valued IPC volunteer, died suddenly in January 2024.
On the Line With... Podcast Talks With Cadence Expert on Manufacturing
04/18/2024 | I-Connect007In “PCB 3.0: A New Design Methodology: Manufacturing” Patrick Davis returns to the podcast to talk about design rules. As design considerations become more and more complex, so, too, do the rulesets designers must abide by.