Texas Border Business
McAllen, TEXAS – South Texas College’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology Program celebrated its third time establishing itself as an accredited institution by the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS).
STC is widely recognized as the first academic institution in Texas to gain accreditation through NIMS, and ranks ninth in the nation just behind the U.S. military as one of the largest NIMS testing sites for credentialing students.
Held every five years, the designation makes STC a certified NIMS-Accredited institution for the period from March 21, 2019, to March 29, 2024.
NIMS is the nation’s only ANSI accredited developer of precision manufacturing skill standards and competency assessments. It certifies an individual’s skills against standards and accredits programs that meet their quality requirements representing over 6,000 American companies.
“This is a big recognition not just for the college but for the students as well as our faculty, and of course for our industry as a whole,” said Dr. Esmeralda Adame, Assistant Dean of the Business, Public Safety and Technology Division at STC.
“You all get to earn these credentials, and it proves that you all are qualified to do these projects. We know how tough it is,” Dr. Adame told students at their celebration May 10.
STC last renewed its NIMS Accreditation in 2013. Over the last five years, the college has awarded 1,213 credentials to students, about 250 credentials a year, providing companies with tools and resources to develop customized registered apprenticeship programs.
These programs combine on-the-job training with job-related classroom instruction and meet national standards for registration with the Department of Labor or State Apprenticeship Agencies.
“Similar to OSHA requirements, as an educational institution we have to meet certain requirements, and part of that is being compliant in many of the different aspects of manufacturing,” said Arthur Barber, Advanced Manufacturing Technology Program Chair. “It’s a rigorous process, and we have to make sure we abide by all of those standards.”
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