Tech training on demand from ToolingU

Entry-level training is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to training needs in metalworking manufacturing today, according to Jack Schron Jr., president and CEO of Jergens Inc., Cleveland, OH.

“There is a need for training that reaches all the way from the shop floor to management levels,” says Schron. “Its goals include training young people, keeping pace with advanced technology, meeting documentation requirements for ISO certification, as well as training sales personnel in distribution companies.”

It was with this larger training need in mind and cognizant of what the Internet can really do—i.e. deliver a lot of information on demand—that led Schron to develop and launch an online university, called ToolingU.

ToolingU is designed to provide web-based training of in-depth real-world technical content tailored to the trainee’s need at the basic, intermediate and advanced levels.

“The courses are designed by experts to be current, relevant and interactive,” says Schron. Coursework offers detailed instruction using audio, text, photographs and illustrations, as well as full-motion video, pop-up keyword glossaries and links to relevant websites.

The program is interactive. As students work through their programmed course units, they can ask questions of faculty members associated with each department or communicate with other students on a message board or in a chat room. Or they can visit a Reading Room or browse through a fully operational Bookstore.

In cases where the student’s Internet connection is too slow, a multimedia CD-ROM is supplied to supplement the course work. Lessons can even be downloaded to handheld PDA devices for anytime, anywhere studying.

Topics are developed in conjunction with leading companies as sponsoring expert resources. “These are not commercials, nor are they intended to be,” says Schron. Sponsors do have broad rights, however, to employ ToolingU material in their own internal and external training and marketing programs.

 To date, course offerings and their sponsors include metalcutting (Valenite), workholding (Jergens), CNC (Cuyahoga Community College), and materials (Castle Metals). Future department offerings will include metalforming (Dayton Progress), material handling (Crane Training), quality and welding, among others.

Yes, there is accountability.

Quizzes complete each unit assignment, allowing students and/or their employers to monitor their progress through the program.