In the early 2000’s, the automotive manufacturing sector faced the increasingly critical challenge of how to better prepare skilled workers to succeed in their industry. Community and technical colleges from Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Kentucky gathered with automotive manufacturing companies, both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers, to form a partnership to address this challenge and implement solutions. From this, the Advanced Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative (AMTEC) was formed. The mission of AMTEC is to “create and sustain an innovative, responsive and standards-based workforce development system that meets advanced manufacturing industries skill requirements.”
Collaboration with Nocti Business Solutions
Nocti Business Solutions (NBS), a subsidiary of NOCTI, is a leader in assisting employers assess the knowledge and skills of their current and potential employees so they can maintain a safe workforce and improve training. Their expertise in developing and validating skills assessments is crucial to the success of every industry, so it was a natural fit for them to become a collaborator with AMTEC. NBS provides third-party validation to AMTEC’s standards and assessments and is the “link between industry and education that is essential to the success and effectiveness of AMTEC” (amtecworkforce.com).
“Without NBS’s third-party validation, AMTEC would not be able to stay ‘non-partisan’ in terms of what we provide our industry and educational partners,” explained Jason Simon, Director of AMTEC. “That’s what makes our organization unique from other companies in the education arena. We are completely guided by our industry partners through our relationship with NBS.”
Student Credentialing & Workforce Preparedness
AMTEC recently began an initiative to provide credentialing solutions at the secondary education level. The decision for these new credentials was made because the organization repeatedly heard from school and industry leaders that there were no affordable and relevant industrial maintenance certifications for students.
To ensure students receive industry-certified and validated credentials, AMTEC partnered with NOCTI, the national leader in creating customized, high-quality CTE credentials and certifications that align with industry standards, and the non-profit parent organization of NBS. Together, NOCTI and AMTEC are working with subject matter experts (SMEs) from high school instructors to technicians with more than 30 years’ experience to create credentials that will not only fully prepare students for what they will encounter once they enter the workforce, but also equip them with the confidence they need to be successful as a maintenance technician.
Emerging Technicians Certification
While still in the pilot test phase, the AMTEC Emerging Technicians certification will allow a student to walk into an employer’s office and prove they have mastered the skills needed for an entry-level position in maintenance. And, with both AMTEC’s and NOCTI’s reputations of being industry-driven and fully validated, those employers can be confident that a potential employee with this national certification is truly qualified and prepared to be a successful maintenance technician.
“Most high school students struggle with understanding industrial settings and situations. The AMTEC program does an excellent job using visual aids and test explanations to immerse students into real-world industrial scenarios,” explained Barry Bond, Logan County Schools Instructor and pilot test site for the Emerging Technicians Certification. “With non-traditional instruction (NTI), like what we had to do during the early stages of the pandemic, the AMTEC modules explain the information in a way that an instructor cannot without being in a normal classroom setting. While using the AMTEC curriculum, I know that my students will be exposed to excellent information delivered to them without seeing me on a daily basis. [And,] the information has been vetted by leading subject matter experts in the field of advanced manufacturing. The AMTEC curriculum not only prepares them for the national certifications, it prepares them for their careers once they leave the program.”
There are a variety of certifications and assessments on the market today that claim to be developed for industry, by industry. However, NOCTI & NBS have the methodology and documentation to back up such claims. NOCTI’s third-party validation of AMTEC’s assessments helps to ensure the schools, their administrators, and students are getting a true industry vetted certificate.
A Commitment to CTE
Certifications and credentials are an important assurance to employers that a candidate has obtained industry-relevant skills and knowledge to be successful. For high school students enrolled in CTE programs to earn certifications like the Emerging Technicians Certificate, they will not only receive a validation of the skills they learned but will also be provided with connections to the industry that can serve as a bridge to professional-level certifications. This approach supports developing a career pathway for industry credentials and building a competent workforce.
AMTEC was created in such a way that all certifications, curriculum, and physical trainers complement one another. Any one of these components can stand alone, but when combined into the AMTEC system, the components create a seamless turn-key solution for teachers to expose their students to real-world advanced manufacturing maintenance situations.
With more than 55 years of experience in CTE, NOCTI delivers solutions for increasing students’ technical competence and certifying new and incumbent workers in the private sector. Because the demand for skilled workers continues to grow, NOCTI is continuously expanding its services to partner with organizations like AMTEC to support teachers, administrators, and other CTE professionals.
Are you interested in learning more about the Emerging Technicians Certification, AMTEC, or becoming a Pilot Test Site? Please reach out to us.