IPC APEX EXPO: IPC Training Updates with Vince Price of Blackfox

An IPC Training or IPC (Institute for Printed Circuits) is a global association for the electronic manufacturing industry. They have set an industry standard for excellence among the electronics industry workforce. Having IPC Certification makes you instantly more attractive to employers in the electronics industry. 

Blackfox Training Institute has provided technical training the Electronic Industry required since 1996. They help you provide knowledge to your team, improve your direct labor workforce’s skills, reduce your Cost of Quality (COQ), and improve the overall quality of your products. 

During the IPC APEX EXPO last January, Vince Price, the manager, and master IPC trainer was interviewed by Pete Starkey to discuss the latest updates to IPC certification programs. 

The first question was about how recognized leading providers of IPC training like Blackfox deal with COVID and how did their training go. 

“It’s been a challenging time when COVID hit”, Vince answered as he recalled it was during his training classes when he had to cancel the classes because COVID happened. They need to implement an online certification system and have collaborations with IPC to get it done. It is impressive how Blackfox did it in a month by the way. 

“We were able to transition to an online certification system”, Vince added. Classes were through zoom meetings and they have a remote proctor program for online testing. Despite the limited actions they can do, they have modified the training rooms and were able to teach twelve people at a time. They practiced social distancing throughout their training locations and it was still basically supervised practical training. 

Challenges such as IPC only allow small portions online, they still have to catch up with the hands-on portion which is needed to be in person. “It was a long and difficult process but we were able to overcome it.”, Vince claimed. Blackfox online classes went well and in fact, they are looking forward to retaining it because of its advantages such as clients won’t need to travel especially when the training location is far from them and time efficiency. The use of webinars is important in learning too.  

In terms of being time-efficient, Blackfox found an advantage such as providing training online to clients from different parts of the country with different time zones at the same time. 

Vince Price also added that the company has expanded its facility in Colorado. From 3 training rooms to 5-6 training now and yes, they are still practicing social distancing. 

Final Thoughts

Blackfox is one of those companies having a success story despite the pandemic. They were able to adjust with the online credentials and retain their service with the help of the IPC Certification team. Sometimes, when we think that it’s the end, it’s just a warm-up of what’s coming. A lesson we can get from Vince Price is being open to new opportunities and despite the pandemic, we can still be productive and can deliver quality service. We just have to open our minds and face the challenge. Kudos to the Blackfox team for making it this far.