Training courses for employees in the electroplating industry kick off successfully

Modular C-VET offers geared to the needs of industry 

As part of the SCHOOLPLATE project, the basic course Applied Electrochemistry - Practical Electroplating is the first component of a modular C-VET portfolio developed by the project partners Fraunhofer IPA and the team of the Metallurgy & Material Research Institute (MMRI) of Chulalongkorn University for the electroplating industry in Thailand. The offer is divided into basic courses, technology and methodological courses, and courses in quality assurance and failure analysis. The course portfolio was developed based on the results of the skills needs analysis conducted in 2020. In the project period until March 2023, three basic courses and one advanced course in the area of quality assurance and failure analysis will be jointly developed and piloted by the project partners. 

Evaluation confirms quality of course contents and highlights further potential in course organization

As part of the evaluation of the course Applied Electrochemistry - Practical Electroplating, the course participants, trainers and course planners were asked about their expectations and impressions with respect to the organization, content, methodology and didactics of the course. For this purpose, course participants were asked to answer online survey before and after the course. In addition, guided interviews were conducted with participants, trainers and course planners after the course. Overall, the feedback paints a positive picture with regard to the quality and practical relevance of the course content. The general organization of the course also received appraisal by all participants. For future trainings, even more attention should be paid to ensuring that the professional profile of the participants matches the course offering. Further improvements can be made with regard to time management: In particular, theoretical and practical training should be more integrated to improve participants’ understanding of cause and effects.  Furthermore, it is apparent that the training staff needs more support and professional preparation, especially with regard to their methodological-didactic tasks, in order to fulfill their role in the best possible way. 

SCHOOLPLATE Academy to offer further training courses for the electroplating industry 

Additional courses are to be developed and delivered in the coming years by the SCHOOLPLATE Academy. The academy is to be established as a joint initiative of the MMRI, the industry association TEPNET and the Fraunhofer IPA. To this end, the evaluation report formulates recommendations at the strategic level to ensure the long-term success of the initiative. The recommendations were developed on the basis of regular reflections in which the progress and results in the project were discussed together with the project partners and possible needs for action were identified. The evaluation report can be made available upon request.