ETA International will host weeklong conference

Friday, October 4, 2013

Electronics Technicians Associations International (ETA International) will be hosting an education forum at Area 30 beginning Monday, Oct. 14.

ETA International is a 35-year-old not-for-profit, professional association promoting excellence in electronics technologies through certification.

"They've done this in Greencastle for the last three years," event Cecoordinator Angie Nichols said. "People come from all over the country."

The annual Education Forum is a world-class technical education conference, which allows professionals to discover on emerging technologies, network and collaborate with fellow technicians and educators.

"Bridging the workforce skills gap is a top priority to ETA International," said the company in a release. "Over the last few years, many industry leaders have voiced their concerns that job applicants do not have the basic soft skills required by the companies they represent. In order to address this issue, ETA will conduct a Customer Service Specialist (CSS) class."

The class will include such topics as, safety, ethics, respect, teamwork, communication, telephone and email techniques, problem solving and more. Participants also will have the opportunity to take a CSS certification following class completion.

This year's forum will emphasize hands-on training and certification through workshops provided by Motorola Solutions, Corning Cable Systems, The Light Brigade, Slayton Solutions, Dover Telecommunications, Ira Weisenfeld and Associates, Bird Technologies and more.

Putnam County's own Ken Eitel will also be conducting an informative business session during the conference.

Technicians from around the world will be traveling to Greencastle for this four-day conference that is aimed at those concerned with industry trends, emerging technologies and educational opportunities as well as industry trainers and managers who want to gain insight from both technicians and educators.

Workforce development personnel as well as faculty in technology programs and college representatives are also welcome.

ETA International would also like to invite any interested high school students, who may be interested in a particular field, to attend a presentation free of charge.

"We thought it might be good for kids out there that are interested in these kinds of fields," Nichols said. "They may want to talk to someone and this will be a good opportunity for that. These are all people that are experienced."

Local businesses are also invited to attend a networking reception on Wednesday, Oct. 16 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at the Inn at DePauw.

"We want to promote our local restaurants and things like that when our attendees are here," Nichols said. "I think community involvement is good for any business."

There will be a cash bar as well as local entertainment.

Business owners are also invited to place inserts, coupons or promotional items in the Education Forum conference bags free of charge.

Session details, registration, exhibitor information and sponsorship opportunities are available at the ETA website at www.eta-i.org or 800-288-3824.

For more information on distributing promotional materials at the conference, persons may contact Angie Nichols at 653-8262.

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