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SME and Purdue Debut Green Certification Program
August 27, 2009 |Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
DEARBORN, MI To help pave the way for workers with specialized manufacturing skills looking to add sustainability to their body of knowledge, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) is collaborating with Purdue University's Technical Assistance Program (TAP) to develop the Green Manufacturing Specialist Certificate. The curriculum focuses on such topics as sustainable manufacturing, energy efficiency, water conservation, reuse and recycling, designing for the environment (DfE), and how different pollutants affect the environment.
CareerBuilder.com recently named green jobs as one of seven careers "poised for growth." SME and Purdue aim to promote the skills needed to get one of these new economy jobs and qualify for them.Kris Nasiatka, manager, certification, books and video at the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), states, "There's a perception that green jobs will only be about those in renewable energy like the solar panel installer or the wind turbine technician, but there are also green manufacturing jobs to consider. There's the existing manufacturing job in the aerospace industry where a worker with skills in composites can almost seamlessly transfer to making wind turbines. Then there are manufacturing jobs that would be enhanced by green knowledge.""These types of jobs are ultimately good news for a former auto machinist, welder or fabricator with in-demand skills, but who may need additional training to meet requirements for green manufacturing jobs," she added.The joint program came together as part of a U.S. Department of Labor funded program in North Central Indiana. "Our goal was to provide training that would help people become more effective in their existing jobs or help them transition to jobs with new companies in emerging 'green' industries," said Ethan Rogers, manager energy efficiency services, Purdue University TAP.This partnership includes SME developing an accompanying exam or outcome-based assessment, which will be tested by participants in the Purdue TAP green work force training program. Upon successful testing in Indiana, SME will offer the exam nationwide. "The exam will be able to easily adapt to any green curriculum anywhere in the country. And once students pass it, they'll walk away with a certificate of completion of in-demand, green job skills. We believe that this will be encouraging news for manufacturing job seekers looking to enhance their skills or make new career moves," said Nasiatka. Beyond a broad course of study, the Green Certificate also offers varying levels of learning intensity. "The generalist level is intended to provide awareness, while the specialist level is intended to create project champions who have a more comprehensive body of knowledge." said Rogers. "Upon completion of the six specialist modules, they are ready to sit for the SME exam and earn an SME certificate. As the program and our partnership with SME progress, we envision additional levels that prepare plant engineers and project managers to lead plant and corporate sustainability programs." Rogers said that the program has already attracted a number of students and he expects enrollment to grow to several hundred people by as early as 2010.For more information, visit www.mep.purdue.edu and www.sme.org.