PILOT PROGRAM OFFERS MSSC PRODUCTION TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATION FOR LIMITED TIME

The Manufacturing Skills Standards Council (MSSC) is offering its Certified Production Technician (CPT) certification in a pilot program at Lorain County Community College now through February 18.

The MSSC pilot program is an opportunity for companies, individuals, and organizations to become familiar with the process as well as take the MSSC Certified Production Technician assessment at minimum cost. The four modules usually cost $230, but are being offered in the pilot program for $12 per module.

LCCC’s Nord Advanced Technologies Center is a certified MSSC Assessment Center.

“Companies can use the MSSC assessment for pre-employment testing, dislocated workers can validate their knowledge base and obtain a national certification and credential, and incumbent workers can use it to evaluate their skills and prepare for promotion,” said Sandra Everett, technical projects and training manager in LCCC’s Nord ATC, Engineering Technologies division.

The MSSC is an industry-led training, assessment and certification system focused on the core skills and knowledge needed by the nation’s production workers. The MSSC System, based upon federally endorsed national standards, offers production workers the opportunity to demonstrate that they have mastered the skills increasingly needed in the high-growth, technical jobs of the 21st century.

The MSSC System awards the Certified Production Technician (CPT) certification to individuals who pass each of four Production modules: Safety, Quality Practices and Measurement, Manufacturing Processes and Production, and Maintenance Awareness.  Education and Training is available for all four modules through LCCC’s Nord Advanced Technologies Center. Applicable to all sectors of manufacturing, the MSSC goal is to credential 40 percent of the production workforce over the next 10 years—a strategy providing manufacturers with a sufficient pool of skilled production workers well into the future.

This certification is recognized nationally and endorsed by John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Elaine Chao, U.S. Secretary of Labor, National Council for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM), Labor, and manufacturers nationally, Everett noted.

“Someone may have the experience and skills, but no credential validating their level of knowledge. This certification gives production workers a chance to validate their skills,” Everett said.

For more information or to sign up for the MSSC pilot program, call Everett at (440) 366-7035 or (440) 366-7040. Or email her at severett@lorainccc.edu.

January 31, 2008