Incorporating Learning and Development into Your Workplace: A Webinar Recap
This webinar provided a comprehensive look at how WorkForge's supports PPC Flex’s training and development initiatives focused on holistic training.
Swiss-Tech cut onboarding from 8 weeks to 1—and slashed training costs by 88%—with WorkForge’s scalable, multilingual training content and LMS.
When you’re machining parts for medical, aerospace, and industrial markets, there’s no room for guesswork—and no time to waste getting new hires up to speed.
For Swiss-Tech, a precision manufacturer based in Delavan, Wisconsin, the challenge was clear: their onboarding process was inconsistent, time-consuming, and costly. And as demand grew, the stakes got higher.
The Challenge: A Costly Learning Curve
The impact?
- Onboarding took up to 8 weeks
- New employees were slow to become productive
- Machine downtime and material waste was high
- Turnover was sky high
- Language barriers added complexity
They needed a better learning and development program—one that would accelerate training, reduce variability, and prepare new hires (even with no machining experience) for the floor fast.
The WorkForge Solution
Swiss-Tech partnered with WorkForge to completely transform their training strategy. It started with a full audit of their current processes and ended with a modern, scalable training system that included:
- Access to WorkForge’s online skills training library
- Seamless integration of Swiss-Tech's existing shop-specific content on the WorkForge platform
- A single, unified LMS to deliver it all—complete with progress tracking, reporting, and record retention
- Multilingual training options to serve their diverse workforce
- Ongoing support to optimize and scale the solution
Scaling Smart: From One Path to Many
After initial success, Swiss-Tech’s growth kicked into high gear. A major defense contract meant rapid expansion—and a 25% increase in headcount in just 9 months.
To meet that challenge, they restructured onboarding into job-specific Learning Paths with check-ins on Days 1, 30, 60, and 90. These Learning Paths included:
- Comprehensive safety and onboarding (blending Swiss-Tech and WorkForge content)
- Role-specific skills development from WorkForge’s catalog
- On-site machine training tracked via digital checklists in the WorkForge LMS
- Automatically recorded competency reports based on course completion and demonstrated hands-on skills
The result? Training was easier to digest, better retained, and much more engaging for the employees.
Measurable Impact
Swiss-Tech’s investment in structured, modern learning paid off quickly:
- Onboarding time was cut from 8 weeks to ~1 week
- Training cost per employee dropped from $4,800 to $600—a savings of $4,200 per hire
- New hires became fully productive in under 1 month, even without prior machining experience
- 54 new employees hired with a 65% retention rate
- Employees report higher satisfaction, better retention of material, and more engaging training
In Their Words
"The process didn’t take a lot of effort to make it work. WorkForge made it smooth and easy. They continue to follow up and help us constantly improve and build our program."
— Rachel Repinski
"WorkForge’s customer service helped me organize the Learning Paths the way I wanted them. They paired their best practices with our vision—and we ended up with an even better outcome.”
— Becky Renz, HR Manager
The Bottom Line
Swiss-Tech turned an outdated, inconsistent onboarding process into a modern, efficient, and cost-effective system—one that’s scalable, multilingual, and designed for rapid ramp-up.
They didn’t just train faster. They trained smarter. Read the full case study here.
