FFTA Announces New Comprehensive Educational Initiative & Major Grant from Ron & Katherine Harper
The Foundation of Flexographic Technical Association (FFTA) has supported education over the years mainly as a conduit bringing industry benefactors together with educational institutions. While that has provided a great deal of benefits to our partner schools, the Association & Foundation have not assumed a true leadership role as being the fundamental industry & academic "gatekeeper" of the necessary critical resources to tie all of the training & educational elements together in a comprehensive, effective manner.
The recently announced FFTA Technical Education Services Team (TEST) will focus on the educational needs of the Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) membership directly and non-members indirectly. The team will be dedicated to authoring, updating and hosting state-of-the-art curriculums to meet the needs of an ever-changing industry through addressing the issues identified by the FTA’s Strategic Planning Initiative (SPI).
As a business unit within the FFTA structure, TEST will report directly to Mark Cisternino and the FFTA Board of Trustees, while tracking its own profits and losses, with all profits retained by the FFTA for future educational endeavors. Startup money has been secured through a major educational grant generously provided by Ron & Katherine Harper, long-time supporters of flexographic educational endeavors, to initially cover expenses required for a successful beginning and continuous ongoing operation. The opportunity for additional program sponsorships and donations will be added to the grant/endowment fund to ensure the continuous operation and evolution of the TEST, and the long-term benefits to the flexo industry nationally and globally.
TEST aims to rebuild FFTA’s educational services by providing enhanced support for existing educational institutions (secondary, post-secondary and higher), and well as creating a state-of-the-art Web-based training portal for the flexographic industry. Using a branded delivery method, the curriculums will include, but are not limited to, multiple basic, intermediate, and advanced levels, all with the principles and practices identified in Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerance (FIRST) in mind, and will evolve along with updated versions of FIRST. The materials will be accessed via the FFTA virtual campus, a portal that consists of a series of buildings that can be clicked on to access a specific subject or activity, and each will house multiple levels of content. At each point, free teaser content will be available to all viewers along with an outline of course content culminating in direct access to the training modules
TEST will hold the directive of evolving all of the current FFTA publications—i.e., Flexography: Principles &Practices, Press Pals, Ink Book, etc.—into online media formats accessed via the relevant virtual campus locations.
An accrediting process will be implemented for all existing flexographic educators for the FTA to quantify consistent delivery of all flexographic educational materials. Accredited instructors will receive full access to training materials at no additional charge for use in secondary, post-secondary, and higher educational programs. Additional monetary compensation will apply to accredited institutions for use of materials with individual customized and consulting programs and all FFTA cosponsored workshops and seminars.
While the FTA membership and educational memberships will provide a percentage of the customer base, the FTA membership represents only 10 percent of its potential global customers. A flexographic directive and partnership through other print-related organizations and international FTAs will allow for a much broader customer base nationally and worldwide. This will provide the FFTA, TEST and its sponsors and benefactors the value-added recognition of their commitment to education that is deserved throughout the regional, national, and global flexo markets.
The flexographic industry has shown significant growth in the past based on economic benefits, but as it transitions into the future, quality and consistency demands mean that the level of skills and knowledge of the operators and industry members needs to be increased. TEST and the materials it develops will form the basis for the education of the industry now and in the future.
The mission of this effort is for the FFTA, and TEST, to be recognized as the premier source for continuously developing and providing the optimum models and content for all levels of flexographic education, for continuous professional development of the industry and its personnel, delivering it in the most efficient and cost-effective method, while remaining self financing for future continuing advances.
Look for more details on TEST in the coming weeks.
Founding Sponsors, Ron and Katherine Harper
