August 6, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO - Associations like the American Institute of Steel Construction are always finding new ways to serve their membership--and a much-needed AISC program has earned prestigious honors from the American Society of Association Executives and the International E-Learning Association.

In AISC's case, that element of service means providing an educational supplement specifically designed to help steel fabricators train new or newly promoted employees. The Fabricator Education Training Program is an easy way to introduce basic concepts, helping new hires quickly acquire the necessary skills to feel more involved and supported in their new position, whether it’s their first job in the fabrication industry or a move into a new role on the shop floor.

The Fabricator Education Training Program has now earned a silver ASAE Power of Associations Award as well as a bronze 2025 International E-Learning Association (IELA) Award. This isn’t the first award for AISC's Fabricator Education Training Program, which also received a Best in Show Award from DevLearn 2024.

"When fabrication shops hire new staff, they need to get them onboarded and up-to-speed quickly," said AISC Fabricator Education Program Manager Joel Landsverk. "Our curriculum is designed to cover everything from the proper use of a tape measure to layout and fitup of a beam with complex pitch--skills and concepts that fabricators need throughout their careers. Essentially, we step in as a supplementary trainer to equip the team on a shop floor to do their best work and grow as skilled professionals."

The program has three primary sections: fabricator fundamentals, layout and fit-up, and welding training. The first two have a combined 36 courses that total 15 hours of training. There are three welding training courses available, with more scheduled for release in late 2025. AISC worked with Artisan Learning, an online learning course developer, to create the program and launched its first courses last summer.

ASAE's Power of Associations Awards showcase how associations leverage their unique resources to solve problems, advance industry or professional performance, kick-start innovation, and improve conditions around the world.

"Congratulations to AISC for exemplifying the impact associations have on the industries and professions they represent, and on society at large," said ASAE President and CEO Michelle Mason, FASAE, CAE. "It's always so incredibly satisfying to see associations going above and beyond their everyday mission to change the world. We're very proud to spotlight this award-winning initiative."