Among the critical issues that face packaging professionals today is the all-important task of training the work force of tomorrow.

This story takes a look at three colleges, one in the Midwest and two out East, all focused on essentially the same critical task: Preparing the packaging workforce for a world in which electronics, mechatronics, and a familiarity with information technology are every bit as important as an awareness of mechanics and mechanical engineering.

Our story begins at Alexandria Technical College in Alexandria, MN. That’s where Dr. Kenneth Ryan, director of the college’s Center for Automation and Motion Control, is preparing a National Science Foundation grant proposal that will permit the establishment of a Packaging Automation Center of Excellence.

“The goal is to establish a skills standard for technicians working with packaging machinery,” says Ryan.

Ryan says the NSF funding will pay for three key things, the first of which is an industry survey to identify needs and establish a skills standard.

Another notable effort is being spearheaded by Reading Area Community College (RACC) of Reading, PA, where a unique consortium of public and private-sector organizations is hoping to develop a Center of Excellence in Packaging Operations. The consortium has hired industry consultants Keith Campbell, former executive director of the OMAC Packaging Workgroup, and Stan Telson, president of QSSP Group.

And finally, at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, two recent initiatives should pay packaging dividends down the road. First, the mechanical enginering department is installing a solid-dose pharmaceutical packaging line and is building a required course for all seniors around the line. Also in the mechanical engineering department, a minor in mechatronics will soon be offered.