Polymer Academy earns Cogent Skills gold standard

Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s Training Academy has just been awarded Skills Partner status by Cogent, the UK’s strategic body for skills in the life and industrial science industries.

The award, which is regarded in the polymer industry as the kite mark of quality, officially recognises the company’s Daventry-based Academy, which opened in September 2016, as offering high quality training that boosts skills transferability.

Joining the Cogent Skills Partner network further endorses the value of the practical, process-led workshops, which enable students with zero knowledge to attain a thorough understanding of injection moulding over several years. Each of the six courses is delivered over three consecutive days, offering a blend of theory and practical, classroom assessments, and practical end tests. At the end of the programme, all students sit a three-hour exam, covering all six courses.

Academy trainer Darren Vater-Hutchison comments: “This endorsement by the polymer industry skills body is further testament that the courses we’ve developed meet the needs of both employers and their workforce.  By equipping students with the skills to work safer, more productively and achieve optimum machine performance, delegates and their employers have reported tangible productivity improvements and an increased sense of ownership and enthusiasm for their jobs.”

Training is not aimed solely at customer with Sumitomo (SHI) Demag machines, emphasises Darren. “At the Academy the focus is on process rather than machine specific teaching.”

At the start of this year SDUK added to the Academy programme launching a new four-day Mould Validation (MVal) course aimed at process technicians, which significantly helps to improve machine OEE.

For companies and employees seeking a taster training session, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is hosting free half hour courses at PDM 2018, Stand C026, 19th and 20th June. Anyone taking part in the PDM Training Courses can then register for a 10% discount on any training programme booked before 1st September 2018 at the Cogent approved Academy. For details and to reserve a place, email [email protected].

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