How Do We Engage with ACI?

How do We Engage with ACI?

Workforce Training & Industry Support

The Advanced Composites Institute (ACI) partners with industry to deliver high-impact training solutions that strengthen workforce capabilities and support long-term growth. Through a combination of hands-on instruction and industry-informed curriculum, ACI helps organizations build, retain, and advance skilled talent. 

Training for Every Stage of Your Workforce

Whether you are onboarding new employees or developing your existing team, ACI offers training designed to meet your needs: 

  • New Hire Training 
    Build a strong foundation with instruction in composite materials, manufacturing processes, and safety practices. 

  • Upskilling Opportunities 
    Enhance the capabilities of your current workforce with advanced technical training aligned with industry trends. 

  • Reskilling Programs 
    Support workforce transitions by equipping employees with new competencies for evolving roles and technologies. 

Customized Training Solutions

Have a specific challenge or specialized process? ACI works directly with industry partners to develop custom, bespoke training programs tailored to your equipment, workflows, and workforce goals—ensuring immediate, real-world application. 

Partner With ACI

Our collaborative approach ensures that training is practical, relevant, and results-driven—helping your organization increase productivity, strengthen talent pipelines, and stay competitive. 

Established Courses & Flexible Delivery

ACI offers a range of established training courses built on industry best practices and emerging technologies. Programs can be delivered in flexible formats to accommodate your schedule, workforce size, and operational needs. 

These programs include: 

  • Composite Manufacturing for Technicians - A 40-hour training covering a composite manufacturing overview. This course provides advanced classroom and hands-on prepreg composites manufacturing training at an industrial scale to prepare technicians for day-one contribution at advanced manufacturing sites, emphasizing safety, quality, and defect prevention. 

  • Composite Assembly for Technicians and Engineers - a 40-hour foundational knowledge of composite materials and assembly process. This course aims to equip participants with foundational knowledge of composite assembly and achieve entry-level knowledge in composite aircraft assembly techniques for immediate contribution in aerospace manufacturing. 

  • Design for Manufacturing Composites - a 40-hour course focused on the creation of high-quality, producible composite structures optimized for aerospace applications. This course provides engineers and designers with a comprehensive understanding of aerospace composite materials, manufacturing processes, and design principles for manufacturability - preparing participants for effective collaboration with manufacturing teams in advanced aerospace composite programs. 

  • Coating for Composites - a 40-hour training covering aerospace composite coating and safety. This course helps develop an understanding of composite coating processes and their importance in aerospace applications. Participants will master surface preparation and masking techniques for coating adhesion and durability, gain proficiency in mixing, applying, and curing primers and topcoats on composite surfaces, learn coating inspection methods, and perform high-quality composite finishing and coating operations that meet aerospace standards. 

  • Metrology - A 40-hour training focusing on precision measurement. This course aims to equip aerospace technicians and engineers with practical skills to perform accurate and repeatable dimensional inspections of composite components using both DCC and portable CMM systems, as well as prepare trainees to contribute immediately to inspection and quality assurance processes in advanced composites manufacturing environments. 

  • Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) - A 40-hour class that focuses on interpreting and applying GD&T principles to composite structures and assemblies. This course enables aerospace technicians, inspectors, and engineers to correctly read, interpret, and apply geometric dimensioning and tolerancing principles to composite parts and assemblies per ASMW Y14.5. Participants are prepared to contribute immediately to quality control, inspection, and design review processes in advanced composites manufacturing environments.  

  • Composite Tool Design - 40-hour composite tool design course focusing on the engineering and practical aspects of designing high-quality tools for aerospace composite manufacturing. This course aims to equip composite manufacturing engineers, tool designers, and advanced technicians with the knowledge and skills required to design and validate high-performance composite tooling and prepares trainees to contribute immediately to tool design, procurement, and modification activities in industrial-scale aerospace composites programs.  

  • Destructive Testing Training - A 3-hour training focusing on mechanical and physical property evaluation of aerospace composites using a Shimadzu AGX-V Universal Testing Machine (UTM). This course aims to train aerospace technicians, inspectors, and engineers in the safe and accurate operation of a Shimadzu AGX-V UTM for performing industry-standard ASTM mechanical property tests on composite materials and prepares trainees to immediately support mechanical and physical property testing programs in advanced composites manufacturing and certification activities. 

Interested in learning more?

Contact Senior Program Manager, Dr. Kelsey Botts, at
kbotts@aci.msstate.edu