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Customized Training Key to Washington County Career Center’s Success Customized training has been key to the overall success of the Washington County Career Center, Adult Technical Training, an Ohio Technical Center located in Marietta. “It’s as simple as talking to the employers and listening for their needs and providing them with the training that is customized to meet those needs,” said John Moore, the career center’s industrial programs coordinator. In the past year, the industrial programs have provided more than 30 customized trainings to businesses. The training can last for months or be as short as one day. The school offers flexibility, with businesses choosing to have training completed at their site or at the school. The school operates two 42-foot industrial training trailers. All training equipment at the school is built to be mobile, allowing each piece to be used in a lab or moved to a job site. “We are listening to what the employer is asking for and making the training about them and what works for them,” Moore said. “The instructor that will be teaching the customized training is brought in very early in the process to develop the training
SPRING 2022
and they are there with the employer every step of the way.” Another critical component to the success of customized training is having highly skilled and knowledgeable instructors. The school has built a reputation statewide for the quality of its training. “Our instructors come to us from a variety of sources, but most have been referred from another instructor,” Moore said. Each customized training instructor brings with him/her an extensive background in his/her area of instruction. All of the instructors have worked in the area in which they specialize and can provide the employer with an in-depth understanding of the employer’s training needs. One customized training client is Kraton Polymers, located in Belpre, Ohio. The company has utilized the school for the past 12 years for new-hire training. “The school listens to our needs, and with the addition of the outdoor industrial training facility, gives our new hires a realistic training that closely emulates chemical plant work,” said Steve Hand, human resources business partner at Kraton.
