The Coalition for Coatings Application Research and Education (C-CARE), a non-profit 501(c)3 comprised of industry and workforce education stakeholders, is positioned to lead the way in developing standardized two-year degrees and certification programs that will be recognized throughout the industry.
US manufacturers face many challenges today, including the increasing complexity of coatings application technology; the need to replace an aging workforce with workers whose skills will meet the demands of the future; and increasingly strict environmental regulation. Industry suppliers have reduced their training and Research and Development (R&D) budgets in order to weather the economic downturn. Unfortunately, this has left training projects and potentially valuable R&D understaffed or abandoned. Companies are left with scarce resources to meet the challenges of keeping workforce skills and knowledge current, advancing R&D, and staying abreast of regulatory requirements.
By building partnerships for the development, standardization, and distribution of national certification programs and training curricula, C-CARE leverages resources to help industry meet those challenges.
C-CARE’s mission is “to serve the coatings industry through research and development of new coatings and application technology, and through the establishment of training programs, certifications, and cooperative partnerships in the field of coatings applications.” C-CARE’s goals are:
•To develop efficient and cost effective solutions allowing US companies to meet their R&D and workforce training needs.
•To develop and distribute standardized certification and two-year degrees programs that will be recognized throughout the industry.
•To provide a vital link between educational institutions, state and federal agencies, and industry members to insure that the educational programming is aligned with industry’s needs in terms of skills, knowledge, and abilities.
•To help industry suppliers and manufacturers locate and cultivate funding for workforce training and development of new coatings and application technologies.
Kenny Stevenson, Executive Director
kenny@coatingsed.com | www.CoatingsEd.com