21,420 to be exact. This is a 20% increase in the number of credentials issued in the United States from 2014. It is a great start toward the 100,000 skilled jobs that industry will need to fill over the next decade…
PMPA is an original founding partner of NIMS, and continues to support its mission to develop and certify industry recognized credentials for our workforce through consensus skill standards.
NIMS has developed skills standards ranging from entry-level to master-level that cover the breadth of metalworking operations and industrial technology maintenance. NIMS certifies individuals’ skills against these national standards via credentials that companies can use to recruit, hire, place, and promote individual workers. Schools and employer training programs incorporate the credentials as performance and completion measures to deliver high quality training to industry standards. NIMS will soon add credentials in Industrial Technology Maintenance and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) to its portfolio of offerings in 2016-2017.
NIMS works to ensure all individuals entering the workforce are equipped with the skills needed to be successful on the job from day one.
“Executives from PMPA member shops all tell us that they would hire people with skills -even if they did not have an immediate opening,” says Bernie Nagle, Executive Director of PMPA. “Our support of NIMS, and the RIGHT SKILLS NOW program is one way that PMPA and our members are addressing the issue of lack of skilled workforce. We congratulate NIMS, and their entire team, on the growth in credentials issued in 2015.”
PMPA congratulates NIMS, all of its partner and sponsoring organizations, and the professionals doing the work that made 2015 a record year for credentials issued. This record is evidence of both the commitment and achievement of developing a competitive workforce through our NIMS community.
For more information about NIMS : NIMS READY
For more information about Right Skills Now: Right Skills Now
For more information about a career in Precision Machining: Career Overview
Career fact sheet
Tag: NIMS credentials
The fact is that there continue to be jobs available for people with skills who can add value in our advanced manufacturing precision machining shops. Our companies are constantly trying to solve their problem of lack of skilled operators.
Never mind the reports about high unemployment rate. Think twice before committing years of your life and many thousands in debt for a college degree that may not deliver any employment ROI.
How can YOU get a job in precision machining?
1) Master your high school math. Machine operators work with decimal fractions to 4 or more places in both English units and metric. Algebra, geometry and rigonometry are used regularly, they are fundamental to understanding our processes. If you can do high school math you have a foundation for a career in precision machining.
2) Get an entry level credential. Community colleges across the country offer one year training programs that result in a CNC operator certificate, Quality Control Technician certificate, or the like.
3) Visit precision machining shops in your area. Look at the technology that is employed. Ask about the high tech products that they produce. Ask them to explain how they measure and check the parts.
4) Ask your friends who have recently graduated from college how their job search is going. The majority of recent college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed in a position that does not require nor compensate them for the degree nor their time and money invested.
5) Get more information off the PMPA’s website. Our Career Tab is a great place to start. Our Training Database will help you identify training resources in your local area. Right Skills Now will help you understand the opportunity and need for machininsts. NIMS credentials are the Gold Standard for our industry.
With the certainty of employment costs increasing due to the Affordable Health Care Act, with the pressures to minimize staffing to control those costs, and the ever present need to remain competitive, companies still need to solve their “skilled operator problem.” If you have a credential that says that you have skills, our shops will be happy to take a look at what you have to offer. The resources above will help you get that credential.