The Necessity of Plastics Education and the Development of a Course Outline as it Pertains to Area Vocational Schools in the State of Utah

Purpose of the Study. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a need in the plastics industries in the State of Utah for plastics education at the area vocational school level. Source of the Data and Method of Study. A list of companies whose major function was plastics processing was obtained from the Directory of Utah Manufacturers. Additional companies were also identified if they were suspect of having any type of plastics processing function within their company. A questionnaire was sent to those companies identified to determine which companies were directly concerned with plastics education. Once these companies were identified, a second questionnaire was sent. This questionnaire was designed to provide knowledge of the functions performed by the plastics industry in the state, the level of skill and knowledge required of the workers performing these functions, and the opportunities available for persons trained in the field of plastics. Findings and Conclusions. Twenty-nine industries were identified as companies being directly concerned with plastics education. Of this number, the majority were found to be in the Salt Lake area. Processes that are representative of the processes performed throughout the nation were found to be performed in the state and all of the major processes were performed. Most companies participating in the study expected growth within the next year and many had worker vacancies at the time of the study. Most companies indicated that personnel with training dealing with plastics could expect higher wages. Their greatest need was for skilled and semi-skilled workers. It was concluded that the number of industries responding to the study represented a large enough need in terms of projected number of employees, types of processes used, and vacancies at present that a program of instruction could be justified at the area vocational level. Also, it was concluded that skills in areas other than those dominating the processing functions on a national level were of greater importance to the companies performing processing functions with plastics in the state of Utah than they are throughout the total industry