Deon is the Education and Skills Lead at the British Plastics Federation, bringing a strong blend of academic, technical, and industry insight. He has a solid background in Chemistry, including a first-class pedagogical dissertation exploring ‘Why BAME and Female students are being lost from the Chemistry Pipeline’, which was presented at the VicePheC (Variety in Chemical Education/Physics Education Conference). Starting his career as an Analytical Chemist before moving into Scientific Recruitment, Deon developed a strong understanding of both technical practice and the evolving skills needs of employers from a nuanced perspective. He now leads on Education and Skills at the BPF, focusing on tackling workforce challenges and strengthening the future talent pipeline for the Plastics industry.
Attending
Education & Skills
Polymer training and workforce capability
Thursday, Jun 4, 2026
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM | Europe/London
Hall 10 | L120 : Interplas Insights Stage
Education & Skills
Why plastic expertise needs a new approach to learning
Polymer operations are becoming more complex while skilled labour is increasingly constrained. This creates operational, quality, safety, and knowledge-retention risks. Targeted polymer training, supported by CPD and upskilling, is a proven way to mitigate these risks.
Learning Objectives
This presentation will show that polymer training is a low-risk, high-return investment that protects operational resilience, talent, and long-term value. It will help you make smarter data-backed training decisions that will deliver sustainable performance.
Limited L&D budgets often gatekeep learning, high course fees, travel costs, and the practical reality that someone has to keep production running while others are away. As a result, only a small proportion of people in our sector receive regular, structured training, which contributes to low retention, skills gaps, and greater difficulty in hiring.
Learning Objectives
This talk explores the idea of a collaborative learning network for the plastics industry, showing how accessible, bite-sized education can improve confidence, communication and decision-making across technical and non-technical roles. It will prove the importance of collaboration as the key to building a more skilled, resilient plastics industry.
Limited L&D budgets often gatekeep learning, high course fees, travel costs, and the practical reality that someone has to keep production running while others are away. As a result, only a small proportion of people in our sector receive regular, structured training, which contributes to low retention, skills gaps, and greater difficulty in hiring.
Learning Objectives
This talk explores the idea of a collaborative learning network for the plastics industry, showing how accessible, bite-sized education can improve confidence, communication and decision-making across technical and non-technical roles. It will prove the importance of collaboration as the key to building a more skilled, resilient plastics industry.
