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Since 1975, ETC has always been dedicated to backing our products with the highest quality service and support. As the company expanded its product portfolio, user base, and global reach over the course of 50 years, education came forward as one of the central pillars of ETC's service philosophy.
For many years, ETC has placed increased emphasis on education and training opportunities across the globe. While some other lighting companies have manuals and datasheets online, no other manufacturer offers ETC’s sheer breadth of educational resources.
Gathering to Learn
ETC offers in-person training around the world, covering a wide range of content including console programming, lighting and stagecraft basics, architectural and power control, as well as technician training.
Education Outposts, which regularly host Hog and Eos training, as well as Echo, Mosaic, and Echoflex boot camps, include Austin, TX, Burbank, CA, New York, NY, Orlando, FL, and Middleton, WI. Key training hubs in the UK, Germany, Dubai, Hong Kong, Italy, and the Netherlands serve regional needs, hosting classes ranging from basic lighting skills to advanced programming techniques.
The Lighting Essentials series brings customizable training curriculum to schools and organizations that are seeking a more tailored learning experience. This education offering invites customers to build their own training schedule from a selection of 18 available courses. While some courses are specific to ETC products, many focus on broader topics such as color theory, lighting paperwork, and troubleshooting basics.
It’s all hands on deck when ETC hosts its two massive educational events at the Middleton headquarters, typically organized bi-annually. CUE invites students, educators, programmers, and designers to our home base for several days of learning. Workshop offers curriculum to dealers and manufacturer reps that levels up their knowledge of the industry as well as ETC products. These events help us maintain a strong connection with our customers and sales partners, while providing a venue for important industry conversations to happen.
Taking Learning Online
While we love to host in-person training as much as possible, ETC also recognizes the benefits of making learning available online. The Eos Family Learning Series, Learn Hog 4 Series, and Mosaic Video Learning Series all feature videos freely available on YouTube, catering to learners at all skill levels.
The LearningStage online platform, which launched in 2016, offers training videos, quizzes, and more, to make learning on the fly as easy as possible. In 2020, as so many activities moved to an online format due to the global pandemic, ETC saw an increase of nearly 1,000% in LearningStage users. LearningStage saw another boost in usage in 2023, as it moved to a new and improved platform. Today, it remains a highly used resource for ETC end users, staff, and technicians.
The most popular LearningStage course is Networking Fundamentals, with 6,734 students enrolled, followed by Data Types and Topologies with 2,302 students enrolled.
Origins of the Education Center
As Told by Ellen White
Ellen White began her career at LMI in 1988, and moved to Wisconsin in 1990 after the acquisition, working in ETC’s Quotations Department. Now, as an Outreach and Training Specialist, Ellen shares decades of knowledge with future generations of lighting professionals. Take a look at one of ETC’s most iconic photos from the Source Four launch in 1992, and you will find Ellen working on the LDI booth!
1997: “Tony Romain and I worked on a proposal for a Product Education Program. For the next few years, I would visit local schools or have schools come to ETC.”- 2001: “ETC Founder Fred Foster and I chatted about taking the program more nationally. We joked about me traveling the country in a motorhome outfitted with consoles and lights. We created our first brochure.”
- 2005: “I had done 38 road shows, mostly in the Midwest, but a couple in the West, a couple in the Northeast, and a few in the South. I didn’t travel in a motorhome, but I did ship gear and travel to the sites.”
- 2006: “We started hiring outside trainers and doing more events at our regional offices.”
- 2016: “We introduced LearningStage, ETC’s online training platform.”
- 2020: “We faced the global pandemic, which led to ETC doubling down on its online training resources with the advent of our online “Study Hall” program.”
As of 2025, the Education Center has hosted more than 700 training events in North America, with more than 25,000 people participating in those events.
Beyond the Products
Of course, training customers about how to use our products, like Eos or Mosaic, remains a high priority for the education team. However, many of our training efforts are purely developed because we think members of the industry will benefit from the knowledge.
For example, the On Headset audio series is an opportunity for students to practice programming skills in real-time while listening to award-winning Lighting Designers Ken Billington and Paule Constable direct their lighting teams on productions for New York City Center ENCORES! and London’s National Theatre.
ETC’s “Hamilton Programming Project” offers an engaging way for students to put skills into practice. The project consists of a collection of exercises that use actual touring paperwork from the Broadway musical Hamilton to help students practice in Eos Augment3d – and learn how Broadway tours operate.
A 72-page e-book, Stage Lighting Design: An Introduction, is also free to download on the ETC website to help educators better understand and explain the basic elements of stage lighting. The guide covers basic illumination techniques, learning exercises, and more. A series of posters was developed in conjunction with this e-book, offering an eye-catching display for classroom walls to reinforce key elements of stage lighting. These posters are available in seven languages and are also free on the ETC website.
Driving Mentorship
Among the educational efforts that are incredibly dear to ETC is the Fred Foster Student Mentorship Program. This initiative was sparked by Fred’s passion for mentorship as a key building block in any lighting professional’s career. Seeking to use ETC’s resources to help build the next generation of lighting greats, Fred officially started the company’s student mentorship program in 1999. Now named in his memory, the Fred Foster Student Mentorship Program is just one way that Fred’s legacy lives on.
Students, mentors, and program organizers met up at LDI 2024
The beginnings of the mentorship program can be traced back to the LDI tradeshow. Six students received an all-expense-paid trip to Las Vegas for LDI. There, they met with some of the industry’s top talent at an ETC-hosted reception to make introductions and network about their careers. Since the early days, the program has evolved. In addition to meeting at an ETC-hosted event, program organizers began to pair students with long-term mentors. Once matched, students are encouraged to remain in contact with their mentors for career advice, portfolio reviews, and even tech visits.
In 2020, as the global pandemic struck the industry, the Fred Foster Student Mentorship Program was hosted entirely online for the first time ever. Hosting events virtually gave ETC more flexibility in the reach and scope of the program. In place of the in-person reception, a large and lively Zoom event now introduces the mentees to mentors. ETC also added numerous designer roundtables focused on specialized topics, such as theatre, television, themed environments, live events, and more. As program organizers begin to match students with their mentors, they also coordinate spotlight sessions in which students share their work with a small group of mentors to receive direct feedback on their portfolio.
Learning Into the Future
ETC is constantly enhancing and expanding training opportunities. As we plot out the next 50 years at ETC, we aim to continue being a top resource for learning among our customers and partners.
What has been your favorite training experience with ETC? Drop a story in the comments!
