Today, the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (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 2014, NIMS issued 18,947 industry-recognized credentials, representing a 36% increase from 2013.

“It is clear that the precision manufacturing sector is strong and growing, and more students and workers are preparing for success in the wide variety of jobs our industry offers,” said Jim Wall, Executive Director, NIMS. “NIMS would like to congratulate more than 8,000 individuals who earned at least one industry-recognized credential last year and have the ‘mark of excellence’ that will make them highly sought-after talent.”

More than 6,000 metalworking companies and major industry trade associations have invested more than $7.5 million in private funds to develop NIMS standards and credentials that prepare and advance the industry’s workforce, and continue to upgrade and maintain the standards as the industry changes. “The precision manufacturing industry is constantly evolving, becoming more complex, technology-driven and innovative,” said Greg Chambers, director of compliance, Oberg Industries, Inc. and chairman of the board, NIMS. “NIMS ensures that companies, workers, and students keep up with changing industry standards and job requirements and that training programs equip individuals with the knowledge, skills and abilities they need to succeed in in-demand jobs.”

NIMS has developed skills standards ranging from entry-level to master-level that cover the breadth of metalworking operations, including metalforming and machining. NIMS certifies individuals’ skills against these national standards via credentials that companies can use to recruit, hire, place, and promote individual workers. Training programs, both at the secondary and post-secondary level, incorporate the credentials as performance or completion measures of academic coursework in metalforming or machining programs.

Contact NIMS at support@nims-skills.org or (703) 352-4971 with questions.