Mid-South Community College manufacturing/machining instructors Gary Giordano and Kelly Bearden recently earned a combined 18 National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) certifications, an important step toward overall program accreditation.
“The first part of accreditation for machining is that the instructors get credentialed,” Giordano said. “To earn program accreditation the instructors must have a total of at least four credentials between or among them.
“Since Kelly and I earned so many certificates, MSCC will have the opportunity to shoot for the highest level of accreditation, Level 1. It’s really exciting for our institution and our region. If we can complete the process successfully, we’ll probably be the only school in this area that has any NIMS accreditation, let alone the Level 1.”
The individual certification process begins with a five-day seminar that includes training, hands-on exercises, and online testing. Giordano asked the trainer at the beginning about the record for certificates earned during one session.
“The guy said seven, but if you receive that many, you get a special merit one as well, so it’s actually eight,” Giordano said. “But he said, ‘Oh man, that’s really difficult. It doesn’t happen often. Those instructors made the parts in advance. That’s the only way it can be done.’ That gave us something to shoot for.”
Giordano earned 12 certifications, and Bearden earned six. The average number for seminar participants is four.
“Many of these areas I grew up doing, so I knew it wouldn’t be a problem for me,” Giordano said. “I didn’t need the training in most of those areas, and I made all but two of the parts in advance. That is what allowed me to earn that many certifications.”
Bearden said the overall certification process “was a little harder than I had expected,” but he still met the criteria in a half dozen areas.
“The making of the parts was easy for me because I have done that sort of work for over 30 years, and the written test was fairly simple for me because of my experience,” Bearden said.
“Where I learned something was in the part inspection. We used GD&T, Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, which is more detailed than I was used to. If a person can produce the part and check it using GD&T, he or she will know not only how to make the part but how to inspect it.”
Giordano said the NIMS accreditation would be a giant step for the College.
“It will be of great benefit to our students,” he said. “These certifications are gaining industry meaning every day, and students who complete an accredited program will certainly have an advantage when applying for a job.”
“I think more and more companies are recognizing the importance of having a standard of testing that can be used nationwide,” Bearden added.
The next step in the accreditation process is an on-site audit and evaluation by a NIMS industry team that reviews and conducts inspections of all aspects of the training programs, including administrative support, curriculum, plant, equipment and tooling, student and trainee progress, industry involvement, instructor qualifications, and safety.
“They’ll check to make sure that our machines meet their specifications, and that we have adequate safety equipment and procedures,” Giordano said. “They will also review our curriculum to see how it aligns with industry skills standards.”
Giordano said he is confident MSCC can meet NIMS standards.
“We have one of the finest design labs in this area, and we have the expertise to get us where we need to go.”
He said the program has a great deal of potential.
“I look at manufacturing and machining as entry level to engineering,” Giordano said. “When I meet and talk with young people and ask, ‘How many of you want to be a machinist?’ they don’t really know what that is. When I say, ‘How many of you want to be an engineer?’ hands go up because society has conditioned them to understand it’s a high-paying job and it sounds great.”
“What students don’t know is that most machinists coming out of school make way more money than an engineer coming out of school.”
Giordano said the ultimate goal for the MSCC is to create a program that articulates into a four-year engineering degree. “Once we earn accreditation, that will be my next project.”
Metalworking trade associations formed NIMS in 1995 advance efforts to develop and maintain a globally competitive American workforce. NIMS sets skills standards for the industry, certifies individual skills against the standards, and accredits training programs that meet its quality requirements.
For more information about machining/manufacturing/engineering options at the College, visit the campus at 2000 West Broadway in West Memphis, call the Admissions Office at (870) 733-6728, email admissions@midsouthcc.edu, or see the website at www.midsouthcc.edu.
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