PLYMOUTH, MA—Flexo Concepts employees have recently completed Level I of FTA FIRST Operator Certification in order to become flexographic printing “experts.” The training was made possible by a Massachusetts Express Grant designed to fund workforce education in the state.
Created and administered by the FTA, FIRST Operator Certification is an online training program through which participants gain a complete mastery of the flexographic printing process. The program offers three certifications: FIRST Press Operator, FIRST Prepress Operator and FIRST Implementation Specialist. Flexo Concepts chose the latter, which is designed for supervisors, managers and non production personnel such as suppliers of flexo products and services.
The company applied for funding for the training through the Massachusetts Workforce Training Fund Express Program, named for its easy one step, online approval process. “In fact, it was Flexo Concepts that encouraged FTA to add their FIRST Certification training to this program,” said Duane Woolbright, FTA training specialist. He added, “The training has been vetted by the state and is now part of their approved manufacturing training and certification curriculum.”
Flexo Concepts encourages other flexo printers and suppliers in Massachusetts to apply for the Express Grant to take advantage of this training. The company plans to continue with the next two levels of Implementation Specialist training and ultimately achieve FIRST Company Certification.