UL and Tooling U-SME partner on professional certification for AM
June 20, 2018
Tooling U-SME, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, a division of SME and provider of manufacturing training solutions, and UL, Northbrook, Illinois, USA, a global safety science company, have finalised an agreement to align training and certification to create a single source for professional Additive Manufacturing certification. In December 2017, the two organisations signed a letter of intent to collaborate on enhanced workforce training and development efforts supporting manufacturers wanting to increase their capabilities in AM.
This formal agreement follows the successful pilot of the Additive Manufacturing Fundamentals Certification programme at two of the leading AM events in North America – the Additive Manufacturing Users Group Conference (AMUG) and RAPID + TCT earlier this year. As part of the pilot offerings, UL delivered the certification preparation class and Tooling U-SME provided the certification examination.
Jeannine Kunz, Vice President, Tooling U-SME, commented, “This new partnership is the type of alliance the industry has been requesting for years and we are pleased to collaborate with UL to address the market needs and bring this initiative to fruition. Aligning UL’s multi-tiered Additive Manufacturing Training Program to Tooling U-SME’s Additive Manufacturing Certification program underscores our commitment to enhancing professional development of the advanced manufacturing workforce.”
UL and Tooling U-SME are now official partners in the Additive Manufacturing Professional Certification program, which is co-sponsored by America Makes, the US’s National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. The programme is part of what is said to be a growing portfolio of learning and development solutions offered by Tooling U-SME for the manufacturing community.
UL introduced its AM training programme in 2014 – thought to be the first of its kind at the time – in cooperation with numerous industry leaders. Now, Tooling U-SME and UL stated that they will begin assessing the necessary steps to develop the next phase of the initiative, the Additive Manufacturing Technician Certification program, which will be available later this year.
“With any new technology, proper education and training is vital to the continuation of innovation and growth,” stated Melissa Albrecht, Global Program Manager of Additive Manufacturing, UL Ventures. “Through this collaboration, we are able to accelerate our efforts in enhancing advanced manufacturing expertise among the incoming and incumbent workforce, creating countless opportunities for innovation in this industry.”
The new partners will establish a formal Certification Oversight body to advise on the development and ongoing evolution of the Additive Manufacturing Certification program. Additive Manufacturing professionals interested in serving on the Certification Oversight body should contact Jaimie Christie at Tooling U-SME ([email protected]) for more information.
