QUALITY ASSURANCE FOR INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS MSSC EXAMPLE Certified Production Technician (CPT) & Certified Logistics Technician (CLT) Training & Certification Systems Briefing by: Leo Reddy, Chair and CEO MSSC Western Pathways Conference, May 31, 2018

GROWING IMPORTANCE OF INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS Increasingly popular tool to: upskill workforce, reduce student debt, and provide good-paying jobs to those with less than 4-year degree 2014 WIOA definition of a “post-secondary credential” gave first place to “an industry-recognized certificate or certification” Many states now giving $1000+ incentives to high schools for each student securing industry certifications. Growing articulation agreements allowing high school students to get both high school and college credit for industry certifications

NEED FOR COMMON DEFINITION OF QUALITY ASSURANCE Absence is creating conditions for exploitation and potentially wasted public funds Federal and state agencies need guidelines for public funding Industry seeking consistent, mature, nationally portable certifications, not fragmented state and regional

EXISTING LEGAL DEFINITION Based on 10 US Code 2015, National Defense Authorization Act stipulates that DoD and DHS support will be limited to those certifications that meet following quality assurance criteria:   Accredited by a nationally-recognized third-party personnel certification accreditor; or Used by an entire industry or sector; or Endorsed by a nationally-recognized trade/industry association or organization representing a significant part of that industry or sector.

Quality Assurance Role in Apprenticeships May 2018 President’s Task Force on Apprenticeship Final Report Recommendation #4 “To rely on standards-based, nationally portable, industry- recognized credentials as a key element of Industry- Recognized Apprenticeship program quality assurance and accountability, the public-private sector partners implementing these programs should articulate the requirements for standards-based, nationally portable, industry-recognized credentials’’

MSSC Example Nation’s “Gold Standard” for training & certifying core competencies for front-line work in mfg. and logistics Meets both NDAA and Apprenticeship TF requirements Third party accredited: Under ISO Quality Standard 17024 (Personnel Certification) for both M&L Represents entire industry and offers industry-based standards: Over 400 corporations involved in standards development & nat’l. validation Endorsed by NAM for both M&L Nationally portable and deliverable: through network of 2250 MSSC-trained instructors 1300 MSSC-authorized test sites, most at community colleges and secondary schools, and 95 technical field reps in 50 states

Other Examples Several other examples of well-established, high quality, nationally portable industry certifications that meet most or all of NDAA & TF specs: CompTIA National Council for Construction Education & Res. (NCCER) Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS) American Welding Society (AWS) APICS SME American Society for Quality (ASQ) Institute for Supply Management (ISM) American Petroleum Institute (API)

Contact Info: Neil Reddy Executive Director MSSC E: reddyn@msscusa.org T: 703-739-9000 x2221 W: www.msscusa.org