UA Polymer Training Services offering courses online

AKRON—"Pivot" is one of the buzz words that came into popularity with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic early last year.

And that is just what Akron Polymer Training Services had to do when its courses—traditionally offered in-person—had to go online in a hurry so it could continue to offer instruction to the students who needed it.

APTS is part of the University of Akron's School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, and uses the school's knowledge base and capabilities to offer a range of training courses. Courses cover a variety of topics central to the rubber, plastics, corrosion, innovative solutions, medical technology, color technology and adhesives and coatings sectors.

"When the pandemic hit us, we went straight to online," said Penelope Pinkston, manager of the APTS Training Division. "We had to get our instructors up to where they were comfortable to being online, and that didn't take long at all. Once we got that up and going and had everyone on board, then we just started to put the majority of courses online."

Even though some things have opened back up, most of the training courses remain online at this point, though Pinkston said there are two in-person training sessions set for October.

The first was "Complete Injection Molding," Oct. 6-8, with Mark McGinnis as the instructor. He has more than 40 years of experience in plastics injection molding. The second is "Rubber Technician Training," Oct. 26-29, with Henry Pawloski instructing.

She said both courses include excellent hands-on components as part of the training.

When courses first went online, it was difficult to get students to sign up for the remote offerings, but Pinkston said interest has been picking up. A veteran of nearly 10 years at the center, she spent extra effort trying to draw in students. She sent out brochures, made sure the website was updated constantly, contacted previous students and put the word out with co-workers and supervisors.

Pinkston works with about 40 instructors, most of whom are either from the industry or professors. Along with the current offerings, APTS looks to keep up with what is needed in the industry sectors it serves.

"We try to focus on the industry and what they are looking for," she said. "We're big on customizing our courses for the industry."

When a company comes to them looking for help, Pinkston first asks what type of training they are seeking. Then she matches up the request with available courses. She tells them about the instructors who teach the courses, touches on the course outline and gives them the option of contacting the instructors directly if they have other questions.

"It's all about being successful, all about work force training for the industry and assisting them in acquiring the contents and engaging the instructors," she said. "I'm supposed to mainly build a connection with the industry and see what type of training they need."

Typical students are new hires, with some companies sending as many as 10 students to be trained on a certain subject. Pinkston said others already are in the industry and need to get seminar and continuing education credits.

"Sometimes we even get supervisors who just want to get more training," he said. "They do the training so they can take the information back to the employees."

Course levels are arranged for basic, intermediate and advanced students. Cost averages about $700 to $1,800 per class, with most in the $700 to $800 range for one or two-day courses, she said, depending on the length of the course. Some hands-on courses that run four days can cost up to $2,500.

Most of the time, the companies pay the course fees, and Pinkston said she can negotiate group rates if a firm sends multiple students to take a course.

While hosted at the University of Akron, courses can be set up with companies across the U.S., and some internationally. And the center has a good reputation, with more than 95 percent of evaluations coming back positive.

For more information on Akron Polymer Training Services and upcoming course offerings, visit uakron.edu/apts/courses.