4 Signs Your Team Needs CAD Training

Most design engineers have used some CAD software by the time they start their first job. But will those skills be enough to prepare them for the challenges that lie ahead?

Maybe not, says a new e-book just released from PTC. New employees often need added expertise in the CAD system or extensions that your company favors. And even seasoned employees can fall behind as new technologies emerge.

And that can lead to problems, according to the e-book:

When employees are not sufficiently trained on the software they use, they are unable to meet expectations and reach their full potential.

Is your company suffering from under-skilled team members? Here are four warning signs to look for:

1. Onboarding is slow

Watch new team members as they come up to speed. If they’re struggling to quickly learn and use core CAD features and functions, they’re not doing their best work for you. That can lead to frustration as well as delayed projects that go overbudget.

Worst of all, according to a poll from Business Training Experts, 40% of employees who don’t receive necessary job training will leave their positions within the first year.

But the good news is your new hires can often fill in the gaps with targeted learning—in just a few hours and they can even do it online.

2. Experienced team members aren’t keeping their skills fresh

Model-based definition. Generative design. Real-time simulation.

The world of product development evolves quickly. Unfortunately, seasoned employees may be too busy to keep up. If they’re still designing like it’s 2015, urge them to explore a few hours of online update training. It may be just the nudge to keep them on top of their profession.

3. Skill sets are limited

Some team members can find themselves pigeon-holed into narrow job functions, say, producing 2D drawings or focusing on wire harnesses. That’s too bad because without a broader sense of what the software is capable of, those designers may be using outdated methods or workflows to do even the simplest talks.

If team members only work in a few areas of your CAD software, take it as a warning sign that your team is not using their CAD software to the fullest extent. Or more plainly, your company isn’t maximizing ROI.

With expanded training, many product development professionals report an undeniable increase in product proficiency. That results in improved productivity rates as they gain skills to complete projects faster and with increased expertise.

4. New users are distracting the experts

What happens when an untrained team member needs advice and assistance? Often, they rely on experienced colleagues for on-the-job training. That can hurt productivity and makes everyone less efficient. Again, some focused CAD training can help.

Introducing Creo LEARN Subscription

Are you seeing any of these signs? Are you ready to skill up? To ensure everyone gets the most out of their CAD software, PTC has launched Creo LEARN Subscription. This virtual training program offers an extensive catalog of courses that will quickly take your team from beginners to Creo power users.

With Creo LEARN Online Subscription, take an unlimited number of half-day classes live online from any location.

Each class is taught by one of our world-class instructors and is offered in three-hour time slots. PTC’s goal is to make it easy and convenient for students to learn by providing an engaging, interactive learning experience.

It’s set up to provide the most flexibility possible; so, everyone learns on their own time and schedule. (Head to the Creo Training catalog to view course offerings.)

This program is especially helpful for anybody who:

• Plans to take more than two courses; a LEARN Subscription saves money.
• Needs to quickly attain a basic understating of Creo fundamentals.
• Wants to refresh their Creo skills with the latest product enhancements.
• Wants to be trained on new PTC product releases and new capabilities.
• Has CAD experience and needs to be quickly brought up to speed on the nuances of working in Creo.

Contact PTC University to learn more about the Creo LEARN Subscription program today.