TMA 21st Century CNC Training Program earns NIMS accreditation

TMA 21st Century CNC Training Program Earns NIMS Accreditation

(Park Ridge)- TMA today announced the accreditation of its 21st Century CNC Training Program at the Fred W. Buhrke Training Center in Arlington Heights. Officially accredited as of August 21, 2013, the staff and faculty at TMA have met NIMS standards and will continue to set the bar for exceptional metalworking training for industry education in the state of Illinois.

The National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) was formed in 1995 by the metalworking trade associations to develop and maintain a globally competitive American workforce. NIMS sets skill standards for the industry, certifies individual skills against the standards and accredits training programs that meet NIMS quality requirements. “This is a major accomplishment for TMA and is just one more thing that distinguishes our association as a leader in skills training,” stated TMA Chairman Zach Mottl. “I commend our Education Director Patrick Osborne and other key staff who worked to make this a reality.”

To complete the accreditation requirements, an on-site evaluation was conducted by veteran NIMS Evaluation Team Leader Joan Cook of RICOWI, Inc. in Clinton, Ohio. Assisting Cook was Bryant Redd, CNC Instructor at Wilbur Wright Community College – another Illinois program that has been accredited since 2011.

A facility inspection occurred, as well as a host of in-depth interviews with students, instructors and trainers, program managers and directors, advisory committee members, and local employers. Following the inspection and interviews, the evaluation team gathered enough evidence to recommend accreditation, giving the program very high ratings in all evaluation areas including Program Purpose, Facilities, Equipment/Tooling/Measuring Devices, Program Features, Administration, Instructional Staff, and Advisory Committee.

This accreditation is in Level I Machining Skills, with an emphasis on:

* Measurement, Materials & Safety

* Job Planning, Benchwork, & Layout

* CNC Milling: Programming, Setup & Operations

* CNC Turning: Programming, Setup & Operations

About TMA: 8 small manufacturing companies who thought they could better themselves by associating with one another founded TMA in 1925. Through the years, members established programs and services that would help their businesses grow and prosper, train their employees, and provide medical and retirement benefits. As a result of these efforts, TMA has grown into a 1,000 member not-for-profit organization representing almost 30,000 employees of precision manufacturing and supplier companies throughout Illinois.