Industrial Manufacturing & Surface Finishing
NASF had a trusted technical training program, but enrollment was falling. By rebuilding how education is delivered, the association turned training into one of its strongest drivers of member engagement, new member relationships, and non-dues revenue.
Why do companies join an association? And what makes them stay? One of the most tangible answers is education and training: a member benefit that helps companies develop their workforce, strengthen their capabilities, and solve real business challenges. For the National Association for Surface Finishing (NASF), the opportunity was to make long-standing technical expertise more accessible, turning an established educational resource into a driver of member engagement, attraction, and retention.
NASF represents the surface finishing industry, including the manufacturers and distributors that finish everything from aerospace components to gold-plated jewelry. Through the NASF Foundation, founded in 2006, it is the exclusive grantor of the industry’s three certifications, Airline & Aerospace Finishing (CAF), Electroplating & Surface Finishing (CEF), and Certified Aluminum Finisher (CALF), as well as the pathway to the Master Surface Finisher (MSF) designation.
But by 2025, the programs built to deliver that value were losing ground. Registrations were declining, and the reason had little to do with the quality of the material.
Revenue generated through the Catalyst eLearning Center since its July 2024 launch
Catalyst user accounts, up from 235 in its launch year
Registrations across 85 active training products
The Challenge: Strong Content, Shrinking Enrollment
NASF’s technical training had a long track record. Its instructors were respected, its material was authoritative, and its certifications were the industry standard.
But enrollment in its long-form training programs was declining. At SUR/FIN, NASF’s annual conference and trade show, in-person course registrations had fallen by 28%. Webinar registrations saw an even steeper decline, falling by 57%.
When NASF looked for the cause, one answer came up again and again: time. Web-based courses met twice a week for 8 to 16 weeks. SUR/FIN classroom courses ran four days, forcing attendees to choose between sitting in class and experiencing the rest of the conference. Managers could not spare their people for that long, and professionals could not justify the time away from the production floor.
The materials themselves had also aged. Much of the curriculum lived in thousands of pages of PDFs that were difficult to update, impossible to track, and poorly suited to how people learn today.
This was not a content problem. It was a delivery problem.
The Board-Level Question
How can an association protect the value of its technical training when the workforce it serves no longer has time for the way that expertise has traditionally been delivered?
For NASF, answering that question meant more than shortening a syllabus. It meant rebuilding education around how surface finishing professionals actually work and learn.
The Strategic Response: Rebuilding Education Around the Working Day
Working with Kellen, the NASF Foundation modernized its training portfolio in stages. It began with infrastructure and foundational content, then expanded into a full suite of flexible formats.
Infrastructure
A Single Digital Home for Training
NASF first moved all of its certification exams online, with secure logins, proctoring, and instant performance feedback.
In July 2024, it launched the Catalyst eLearning Center, a central hub where learners enroll in courses, track progress, and manage their certificates. Kellen integrated every new product with the NASF portal so that purchase data flows through a single system.
Workforce Pipeline
Foundations for the Incoming Workforce
NASF built a Plating Essentials series covering the fundamentals newcomers need, including basic chemistry, math, and plating.
The series gives new technicians a starting point and a pathway into advanced training and certification.
A Ground-Up Curriculum Modernization
Over 18 months, the legacy curriculum was rebuilt for digital, on-demand use. The work included upgrading more than 5,000 technical illustrations and charts, editing more than 150 hours of instructor lecture footage, and building 11 interactive, mobile-responsive eLearning courses with digital textbooks and supplemental materials. Courses were organized into topic areas with subject matter expert input, and 11 course trailers were produced to support promotion.
Formats That Fit the Workday
NASF now offers three ways to learn, each matched to a different need:
Live
Webinars
A single, focused two-hour session on a course’s most challenging topics, ending with live Q&A with an instructor. Replaces the old 8- to 16-week web-based courses.
Self-Directed
eLearning Courses
Interactive modules, knowledge checks, and downloadable study materials, in versions with and without instructor video.
Reference
Digital Textbooks
A simple option for onboarding, independent study, or quick reference.
A Redesigned SUR/FIN Classroom Experience
NASF cut its SUR/FIN classroom courses from four days to two using a blended model. Participants complete eLearning before arriving, so classroom time can focus on critical concepts, real-world application, and discussion with experienced instructors. Instructors also hold open office hours at the NASF booth, and a proctored exam session at SUR/FIN lets attendees take any NASF exam on site.
Letting Exam Data Set the Curriculum
Rather than guessing what learners need, NASF analyzes where certification candidates struggle most and builds webinar and classroom content around those gaps. For CEF, that means topics such as commonly plated alloys, Hull cell testing, nickel plating, and corrosion principles. For CAF, it includes alkaline zinc-nickel plating, corrosion testing, metals used in aerospace parts, and quality conformance testing.
A Brand Learners Recognize
The relaunched program was promoted under one identity, NASF Surface Finishing Training, with the tagline “Elevate. Every. Finish.” Postcards, course spotlights, trailers, and webinar-based promotion carried the message, including outreach aimed at companies enrolling 10 or more employees.
Why the Exam-Driven Model Mattered
Shorter formats only work if they focus on the right material. Using exam results to choose topics meant each webinar and classroom session concentrated on the concepts candidates find hardest, so shorter did not have to mean thinner.
The Results: Engagement, New Members, and Non-Dues Revenue
The modernized program has delivered on several fronts at once: deeper member engagement, new company relationships, a stronger reason to renew, and a growing stream of non-dues revenue.
Member Engagement
Catalyst user accounts grew from 235 in 2024 to 578 in 2025, 717 by mid-2026, and 932 today. The platform has recorded 1,213 registrations across 85 active training products.
Foundational courses have proven especially popular, with the Plating Essentials series attracting more than 400 registrations. That demand comes from people entering the industry, which gives NASF an early connection with the next generation of its workforce.
Chapter Engagement
Chapters across the country are finding new ways to engage with NASF. The Metal Finishing Association of California (MFAC) recently invited NASF to present at its annual meeting on the educational opportunities available to members. Attendees showed particular interest in the Plating Essentials courses as an onboarding tool for new employees, and since the September event, several MFAC member companies have reached out to implement the program as part of their workforce development efforts.
Companies Choosing NASF for Workforce Training
Modernized training gave NASF something new to offer companies, not just individual members. One company came to NASF needing to train new platers from scratch. It had gone looking for plating education on its own and found NASF’s program.
It enrolled four employees, with the potential to train as many as 250 in the future, and wants some of them to earn the MSF designation. Along the way, it joined NASF as a new OEM member. That single company relationship produced $34,740 in revenue for NASF.
Training can serve as a front door to membership. A company with a workforce problem went looking for a solution, found NASF, and joined.
A Stronger Reason to Renew
Education ties NASF to the daily operations of its member companies. A company that relies on NASF to onboard new technicians, prepare employees for CAF and CEF certification, and move experienced staff toward the MSF has a practical, recurring reason to stay.
Non-Dues Revenue and Return on Investment
Catalyst revenue reached $80,125 in 2024 and $122,400 in 2025. By the June 2026 board meeting, 2026 revenue already stood at $110,635, on pace to surpass 2025. Since launch, the platform has generated $390,365, and the program has already earned back more than it cost to build, with years of revenue still ahead.
The model also reduces costs. Shorter SUR/FIN courses lower facility and logistics expenses, and webinars eliminate the overhead of administering multi-week courses. A streamlined, modern design keeps future editing costs low, and NASF retains full ownership of its content.
The results highlight a distinction boards should weigh carefully: cutting the length of a program is not the same as cutting its value. NASF reduced the time it asks of learners and, in doing so, reached more of them. It also shows why education should be evaluated on more than revenue. Registrations, active users, new memberships, and company relationships together give leadership a fuller picture of what the program returns.
Looking Ahead: From Training Program to Industry Learning Hub
With a modern platform and a full suite of formats in place, NASF is focused on expanding its reach and deepening the connection between education and membership.
Extending the Technical Program
NASF plans to carry its SUR/FIN technical content beyond the conference. The most-attended TAC sessions will be converted into webinars, past presentations will come to the show floor, and an awards component will be added.
Growing Company Partnerships
Outreach to organizations enrolling 10 or more employees positions NASF as a workforce development partner, not only a course provider. Companies that build NASF training into onboarding and advancement become more closely tied to the association, and some that are not yet members may join to do so.
Broadening Access
NASF is promoting on-demand webinars and digital textbooks alongside its live offerings and has scheduled webinars through the end of the year, so learners can engage on their own timeline.
What Other Association Boards Can Learn
The most valuable question is not whether people still want the association’s expertise. It is whether the association is delivering that expertise in a way people can actually use.
1. Diagnose Delivery Before Content
Declining registrations do not always mean declining demand. NASF’s content was strong; its formats no longer fit the workday.
2. Serve the Workforce Entering the Industry
Foundational courses drew NASF’s highest registrations. Meeting newcomers early builds a relationship with the next generation of members.
3. Let Data Set the Curriculum
Exam results show where learners struggled. Building content around those gaps made shorter formats more effective, not less.
4. Blend Formats Instead of Replacing Them
NASF did not abandon its in-person classroom program. It paired online preparation with focused in-person time, so attendees could learn and still experience the conference.
5. Treat Training as a Front Door to Membership
Companies looking for workforce training may not be looking for an association. A strong training offer can bring them in, as it did with a new OEM member.
6. Measure the Full Return
Revenue matters, but so do active users, new memberships, company relationships, and cost savings. Evaluating them together shows what education really returns.
Questions Worth Bringing to Your Next Board Meeting
NASF’s experience raises questions that can help other association boards evaluate their own education programs:
Is Your Education and Training Program Built for Today’s Workforce?
Delivery fit: Do our program formats match the time our members can realistically give, or are we asking for more than their employers can spare?
Workforce pipeline: Are we reaching people early in their careers, when a relationship with the association can begin?
Data-driven content: Are we using exam results, learner feedback, and registration data to decide what we teach?
Company relationships: Could our training solve workforce challenges for companies that are not yet members?
Return on investment: Are we measuring education by revenue alone, or also by engagement, new members, retention, and cost savings?
The Bigger Lesson: Modernize the Delivery, Not Just the Content
NASF’s case shows that an association’s expertise is only as valuable as members’ ability to access it.
When the workforce changes, the way an association delivers education may need to change with it. That is a strategic decision, not just an operational one.
By rebuilding how training is delivered, NASF replaced formats that were losing learners with ones that fit the workday, reached more learners, attracted a new company member, and built a program that has already earned back its investment.
Its next challenge is to turn that foundation into lasting workforce partnerships across the industry and a clear, connected pathway from first course to master certification.
For board members facing similar conditions, the takeaway is clear: education is not only a member benefit. Delivered well, it is one of the most powerful tools an association has to attract members, retain them, and grow non-dues revenue.
Is Your Association’s Education & Training Program Built for What’s Next?
Education and training, member engagement, retention, and non-dues revenue are closely connected to an association’s long-term success.
Kellen works with trade and professional associations to design and deliver education programs, implement learning platforms, and turn professional development into a driver of membership growth.
Whether your association is modernizing legacy training, launching a learning center, or looking for new ways to serve member companies, our team can help you think through the strategic decisions ahead.
Contact Us to Get StartedPlatform figures reflect the Catalyst eLearning Center dashboard from launch through November 2026. Enrollment, webinar, and investment figures are drawn from NASF’s June 2026 board report. Results describe NASF’s experience and are not a guarantee of similar outcomes for other organizations.
