As the industry standard for training and skill validation in precision manufacturing, NIMS offers over 50 credentials that verify skills in a variety of job functions and processes. But, how do these credentials relate to the specific jobs and skills in-demand across the industry?

To answer that question, our team created the NIMS Career Pathway Tool to help employers, job seekers, and educators understand the numerous career pathways in the industry and what NIMS credentials really mean – how they help ensure skills at a variety of levels and how they can be earned to enter and advance in careers.

How does the Pathway Tool help?

Employers can use it to enhance hiring practices, develop better job postings, and incorporate NIMS credentials into training operations.
Educators can use this tool to design their curriculum, aligned with industry standards and directly linked to nationally recognized credentials.
Students can use this information to plan their career path by learning which credentials fit their personal career goals and to better translate their respective skills sets developed in their training program.

NIMS, Gene Haas Foundation, and Edge Factor announced a new partnership to provide schools and training centers with cutting edge educational materials to inspire students and provide pathways to advanced manufacturing careers. Through the INSPIRE Grant Program, schools will receive funding towards eduFACTOR memberships, providing them access to and extensive library of cinematic films and TV series; CTE, STEM and event resources; hands-on CNC and 3D printing; and other interactive activities.

A recent survey found that only 30% of Americans believe that schools encourage students to pursue manufacturing careers and that only 1 in 3 parents encourage their children to consider a career in manufacturing. The resources available in eduFACTOR, which is produced by Edge Factor, will directly address this perception by helping educators make manufacturing careers and technology relevant and exciting to students and their parents.

NIMS, the metalworking industry’s premier standards and skill certification body, announced that it awarded a record number of credentials last year to individuals seeking to enter into or advance in jobs in the industry. In 2015, NIMS issued 21,420 industry-recognized credentials, resulting in a 20% increase in credentials issued in the United States from 2014.

NIMS has worked with education, industry and workforce development leadership for over twenty years to develop top manufacturing talent. Focused on certifying a skilled workforce for the global economy, NIMS works to ensure all individuals entering the workforce are equipped with the skills needed to be successful on the job from day one. This process includes strong partnerships and collaboration with industry trade associations, which have invested in and supported the development of NIMS standards and credentials.

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.