Associations question funding of high school flexo.

Financial support of the Flexo in High School (FIHS) program in North America is on the agenda of the industry's two most prominent associations. Members of the Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute (TLMI) and the Foundation of Flexographic Technical Association (FFTA) will meet separately, and possibly together, during the next several weeks to discuss whether the high school flexo training programs warrant further investment.

TLMI, which meets in Florida in October, will consider taking action on a multi-faceted "2003-2005 Strategic Plan", crafted by the institute's board of directors. In the section titled "Education" is a proposal to discontinue funding of FIHS.

"The TLMI Board of Directors and the FFTA Board have reviewed this program in depth," the report says. "Major feedback from our combined members indicated that the program was not achieving its established goals. Therefore, it has been recommended not to invest any additional funds."

Over the past decade, high schools around the US and in Canada have established flexo training programs for students. The concept was launched by Ron and Katherine Harper of Harper Corporation of America, based in Charlotte, NC; a few years ago the administration was taken over by FFTA and TLMI. Industry suppliers and converters have been active in supporting the program, the latter doing so in hopes that the students would look for jobs in the narrow web segment after graduation.

"That's what we want: potential employees," says John Bankson, president of Label Technology in Merced, CA, and current president of TLMI.

"Flexo in High School has been successful in certain regions," Bankson says. "In others it is not successful. We feel that the training is more effective at the junior college and trade school level than in high schools. Unless a local converter is involved (and in some regions they are very active), it just doesn't work."

A successful high school flexo program, industry leaders say, requires effort and enthusiasm among teachers, school officials, converters, suppliers, and the students themselves.

"Part of the success of high school programs is based on the time demands within the typical student's day," says Mark Cisternino, president of the FFTA. "Our expectations were a bit overzealous at first; we figured the students would be ready to go through a few hours of flexo a week and be ready to take it on. It doesn't always happen that way."

College-level programs are different. "After high school, people are a little more mature," Cisternino says. "They don't have the requirements of taking English and other courses to get their diplomas, so they are able to focus more on what they want to do in the future." Some of the existing college flexo programs are at capacity, he adds.

Cisternino and Frank Sablone, executive director of TLMI, have been discussing FIHS for months in preparation for their organizations' actions. FFTA officials will meet in September to discuss the issue. "We want to do something in unison," Cisternino says. "We don't want to go one way if TLMI goes another way."

"One thing I want to emphasize," he adds. "We're not turning our backs on this effort."