At Formnext 2025 in Frankfurt, alongside new metal and polymer printing systems, one topic moved into the spotlight in particular: qualification for additive manufacturing. With the AMbassador Award, the trade fair organization honored Irena Heuzeroth, Senior Trainer at the Plastics Center SKZ in Würzburg, for the training course “Certified Industrial Technician specializing in Additive Manufacturing,” which she helped to develop. The award recognizes individuals and organizations whose training concepts have a measurable impact on AM practice.
The industrial technician qualification closes a gap between traditional vocational training and academic degree programs. Participants acquire systematic knowledge along the entire 3D printing process chain: from materials science for polymers and metals, to design of additive components, through to occupational safety, quality assurance, and production organization. The two-year, part-time continuing education program includes on-site phases with laboratory exercises in polymer and metal 3D printing and is accessible without a university entrance qualification. Formally, the qualification is assigned to DQR level 6 and is therefore compatible with further academic studies.
“Winning the AMbassador Award makes me very proud and confirms how important knowledge transfer and qualification in additive manufacturing are. The technology alone is not enough, because the key to success lies in education and competence. I am all the more pleased that our training course meets the needs of the industry and hopefully paves the way to success for many participants and their companies. My special thanks go to my fantastic team at SKZ, without whose support this success would not have been possible,” says Heuzeroth.
The award is presented by a panel of experts and supplemented by an online vote, in which Heuzeroth prevailed. For the industry, the training course is a signal that structured continuing education in 3D printing is gaining in importance. In parallel with the industrial technician program, SKZ offers additional courses as well as teaching modules in the Master’s program “Product and System Development” at TH Würzburg-Schweinfurt, thereby linking industrial practice with academic teaching.
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