More than 6,000 training and assessment locations are accredited through NCCER—with more technical schools and community colleges joining that group every year. However, those numbers must increase if the country is to grow and advance its construction industry workforce.
The path to careers in the United States in the last 50 to 60 years has been structured around proceeding from high school to college. But today, only about one-third of U.S. jobs require a college degree. Construction is one of those markets with lots of opportunities without the need for a four-year degree. That’s not to say people don’t need training; but the route to get that training is often unclear to students and their parents, and so they default to heading off to college.
Meanwhile, industry demand for credentialed craft workers is off the charts. Educational facilities serious about meeting the needs of the market have to shift their curriculum to programs that turn out students with the right skills. The resources available through NCCER accreditation allows community colleges and technical schools to prepare potential craft professionals for the career opportunities available in the construction field.
Defining a structured career path through technical training, apprenticeship, project management and supervision is a must for the construction industry to solve its workforce shortage. A key element in doing so successfully means partnering with the education system.
For example, as an NCCER accredited training sponsor, the Steel Erectors Association of America (SEAA) is expanding its relationship with technical and community colleges to bring NCCER accredited testing for craft professions to more students. This allows colleges to become members of SEAA, giving them access to the SEAA/NCCER Ironworker Craft Training program, and other NCCER craft curriculum and assessments.
There’s few other comparable options to NCCER’s standardized construction and maintenance curricula and assessments with portable credentials. Unions offer training, but only to union members. Large corporations may have sophisticated training programs, but they train internally and are not interested in sharing their programs with the industry.
Local and regional technical schools and community colleges accredited by NCCER can help meet regional employer needs by preparing students for success in a variety of trade craft jobs, including carpentry, steel, plumbing, electrical, crane operations, rigging and welding. One of the greatest benefits of having NCCER accreditation is a technical school’s ability to offer industry-recognized credentials. Employers and jobsite owners are increasingly seeking verification of skills.
Individuals who have earned NCCER credentials are listed in NCCER’s registry system. When new knowledge is acquired and workers are assessed, their records can be updated to include new credentials earned throughout their careers. This allows organizations and companies to track the qualifications of craft professionals on staff as well as possible new hires. Those records are maintained for craft professionals in a secure database.
As construction employers are required to make sure their employees are qualified for the work being performed, qualifications and certifications are documentation that demonstrates employee knowledge and abilities, especially when the certification is backed by an organization such as NCCER.
If a young person chooses a career as a craft professional, enrolling in an NCCER-accredited community college or technical school is the best route available toward credentialing right now. Students who complete this level of training know what is required to be successful for a long career in a craft trade, and are better prepared for these jobs. Simply put, the level of sophistication and broad reach that NCCER accreditation offers a local educational institution is unmatched. NCCER accreditation raises educational institutions to a higher standard of instruction which improves the quality of the craft trade workforce locally, regionally and nationally.
