Ivy Tech Help Develop Plastics Training Program 

by Steve Hinnefeld
331-4374 | shinnefeld@heraldt.com
October 11, 2005

One word: training.

Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington is teaming with state plastics manufacturers and state government to produce what officials say is a model training and certification program for workers.

"This is a case where Indiana has led the way in a business initiative," said Cindy Webster, apprenticeship coordinator for Ivy Tech Bloomington.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development has awarded a $594,803 grant to Mid-America Plastics Partners, an Indianapolis-based consortium, to fund the program. Ivy Tech administers the grant and awards college credit to employees who complete the training.

"We do the bureaucratic paperwork, and that frees the companies to work on training and profit-building," Webster said.

The grant allows 19 Indiana companies to offer their employees certification under the Global Plastics Certification Standards program, the only structured apprenticeship certification for the industry. It includes computer-based instruction, training in workplace standards and on-the-job skills assessments.

Troy Nix, director of Mid-America Plastics Partners, said the training and certification are boosting the skills and understanding of employees and improving efficiency, customer service, quality, safety and productivity.

"It basically encompasses everything you'd want your employee to know," he said. "And a better trained employee is a better employee, period."

The program began two years ago when Ivy Tech helped develop training for Visteon Systems LLC, a Bedford automotive parts company. An initial state grant of $480,682 enabled 10 companies to offer the global plastics certification.

Now, Nix said, customers in other Midwestern states are starting to ask their plastic-products suppliers to adopt the certification. "That to me is kind of the icing on top of the cake," he said. Indiana is home to more than 500 plastics companies, which make everything from cocktail swizzle sticks to intricate medical devices. Webster said officials expect more than 200 of the companies will want to offer the certification.

Ivy Tech is working with the plastics partnership and the state work-force department to expand the training program to a two-year college degree in plastics manufacturing.

Bryan D. Newton, J.D.
Dean of Enrollment Services 
Ivy Tech Community College - Region 14
200 Daniels Way
Bloomington, IN  47404
812-330-6007
bdnewton@ivytech.