Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow has announced a partnership with EWI and 180 Skills to provide advanced welding and inspection training to LIFT's members and partners.

The online training, set to launch in the fall of 2017, will combine methods taught and used today by advanced manufacturing professionals with online course modules designed to train and upskill the workforce of today and tomorrow.

For many small or medium sized member companies, easy-to-access, affordable and high quality interactive training does not exist for many new technologies related to lightweighting, which further expands the already wide talent gap in the advanced manufacturing industry which is expected to see 50 percent of its workforce expected to retire over the next two decades.

LIFT is bringing EWI, one of the institute's founding members and a leader in training for new lightweighting technologies, and 180 Skills, a world-class developer of interactive online technical education content, together to design develop and deploy advanced lightweight metal manufacturing technologies, and implement education and training programs to better prepare the workforce of today and tomorrow.

"Workforce development continues to be of paramount importance for the manufacturing industry as the bulk of the workers are nearing retirement age and the technology continues to advance," said James Cruz, engineering manager. "The workforce will need expanded training for the skills required for the new and upcoming advanced manufacturing jobs."

“Providing advanced training is one thing, but putting it online and making it accessible and available to employees at companies of any size, anywhere in the country, is a game changer,” said Emily DeRocco, education and workforce development director, LIFT. "Access to this training is another of the many benefits of becoming a member of LIFT and helping lead the revitalization of manufacturing across the country by working to close the ever-expanding skills gap.”

Online course modules will include nondestructive evaluation (NDE), teaching the most commonly used inspection methods in their industries and the basic fundamentals of arc welding processes for lightweighting applications. The NDE module will teach commonly used inspection methods including: visual testing; liquid penetrant testing; magnetic particle testing; eddy current testing; ultrasonic testing, and; radiography. The courses will include the basic principles of equipment functionality, and introductions to advanced NDE methods in phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) and computed tomography (CT).