ABA, Intertek partnership emphasizes workforce development

BACK TO ALL NEWS

ABA, Intertek partnership emphasizes workforce development

20 Jul 2026

Lily Cota

Lily Cota is a writer, editor and photographer from Kansas City, Missouri. She graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science in English and a minor in Photography. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading fantasy novels, thrifting, trying out local coffee shops and spending time with her nieces.

WASHINGTON, DC — The American Bakers Association (ABA)’s most recent move to strengthen the baking industry workforce has taken the form of a partnership with Intertek Alchemy, a cloud-based training and development platform. The agreement will provide increased access to ABA’s Bakers Manufacturing Academy.

Now available through the Alchemy Training System as the ABA Baking Skills Library, bakery operators have convenient access to industry-developed technical training designed to strengthen workforce knowledge, improve operational consistency and execute baking processes across all functions.

“ABA is committed to helping baking companies build skilled, confident workforces through accessible, high-quality training,” said Samantha Moore, VP of events and programming at ABA. “Developing and retaining talent is essential to our vision of making commercial baking a destination workplace.”

Through this collaboration, Alchemy customers can add ABA’s curriculum directly into their employees’ training plans. The foundational baking education offers product-specific and process-focused training, helping bakeries standardize knowledge across facilities, shifts and teams.

“Developing and retaining talent is essential to our vision of making commercial baking a destination workplace.”— Samantha Moore | VP of events and programming | ABA

The program’s courses focus on training for bread, hamburger and hot dog buns, variety hearth breads, cookies and crackers, sheeting and laminating, wirecut cookies, rotary cookies and crackers, and sandwich cookies and crackers.

“We believe better business performance starts with confident, capable frontline employees,” said Ali Knapp, president of people assurance at Intertek. “By bringing ABA’s trusted baking curriculum into the Alchemy Training System, we’re making it easier for bakeries to deliver consistent, high-quality training at scale.”

This partnership advances ABA’s Strategic Plan goal of establishing the commercial baking industry as a destination workplace, equipping baking manufacturers with the workforce development resources they need to support employee recruitment, retention, engagement and career growth.

“By partnering with Intertek Alchemy, we are extending the reach of our training programs and making it easier for bakery teams to access the knowledge and resources they need to improve consistency, reduce waste and support long-term success,” Moore said.

Advertisement

BACK TO ALL NEWS