Bostik Academy: Technical Talk - An Interview with Bart van Kuijk | Training

The Bostik Academy is Bostik’s centre of training excellence. It is packed with people who are experts in their chosen fields and offers a variety of learning possibilities. In the Classroom part of the Academy, you can sign up for personalised in-person training or you can take online courses and webinar options. The Library contains useful tools and resources such as information on systems, product portfolios, and technical data sheets.
But who better to discuss what Bostik Academy is all about than somebody who has been involved with the Academy since its inception?
Meet Bart van Kuijk, Bostik’s Global Technical Support Director, Sealing & Bonding. We asked him to tell you about the Academy.

What is the Bostik Academy all about? What is its purpose, and who is it aimed at?

The Bostik Academy’s mission is to show our end users – the people holding the caulking guns and applying the products – how to properly use our products. We aim to familiarise the end-user with our new technologies and help them to more fully appreciate the capabilities and potential of the products we sell.

How many people are involved in running the Bostik Academy globally? What sort of roles do they perform?

Globally, we have more than 70 motivated women and men who make the Bostik Academy the centre of training excellence that it is. These people perform roles such as preparing and presenting theory and practical training sessions (online and in-person) and supporting the sales teams in all activities related to our customers concerning technical applications. Academy experts also help with the preparation of articles and technical documentation that are kept in the Bostik Library.

What are all the different teaching resources that the Academy provides?

The Bostik Academy provides a combination of theory and practical teaching sessions and courses. We not only explain what our products can do but we also let the participants work with them in controlled hands-on teaching environments. By doing this, we help applicators develop a much better understanding of the best-practice use of Bostik products.

The Academy has a Library for self-learning. What can users expect to find if they go into the Library?

There is a vast amount of knowledge available in the Library, where all of Bostik’s technical documentation and tools, detailed articles, and information about innovations are kept. We make this information available to anybody who wants to learn more about our products and their applications. For example, there are “how-to” videos that provide quick demonstrations of how the products work. The Library is a rich source of information, knowledge, and expertise for our customers to draw upon.

What would you recommend for a first-time visitor to the Academy site?

Spend some time familiarising yourself with the site by looking around and checking out the variety of resources on offer. Once you have done that, you can sign up for a class, watch a video, or search in the Library for more in-depth technical information on industry information, latest innovations, and Bostik’s products and their proper application.

Tell us about your on-site in-person training days. How do they work? How long are they? In which countries are they available? Do you have a minimum number requirement?

On-site trainings are primarily tailor-made events developed in consultation with the people responsible for the sites to which we bring them. Training events typically range in length from a single day (covering a specific set of products) up to three days (for a comprehensive introduction to a whole suite of Bostik modules). The topics covered are mostly ones that are relevant to the immediate requirements of the personnel at the specific site, and the sessions focus on the correct application methods.

As you might expect, contractors are mostly interested in learning to use new products that will improve the quality of their work or for which the application times are faster. Time savings are high on the agenda for most people.

When people sign up for training, the Academy form will ask them for the number of participants (1 to 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 20, or more than 20). This way we can prepare ourselves better for the respective training sessions.

The Academy typically provides on-site training in most European countries, the UK, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand.

Are there any new developments that users of the Academy can expect to see in the near future?

The Academy website is continually being updated with new information and products as we bring them to market. We are also in the process of upgrading our website with new video content and technical articles to give our customers even more value. We’re always finding ways to help people work more effectively and efficiently.

Thank you, Bart, for giving us an insight into the workings of the Bostik Academy and showing us what a valuable information resource it is for Bostik’s customers. We wish you ongoing success as you develop and improve what the Academy has to offer.

It was my pleasure. Thank you!

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