Individuals working in a number of industrial careers should be equipped with standard safety, quality assurance, production and maintenance skills. For years, the Manufacturing Standards Skills Council (MSSC) has provided the training and credentialing for the Certified Production Technician (CPT) certification, which verifies these skills.
Now, individuals have the option to add a hands-on portion to the program. This is done on the Amatrol Skill Boss, a state-of-the-art piece of equipment for skill training and assessment. These skills are vital in an advanced manufacturing workplace where data and connected systems are standard. With the additional portion, individuals will earn a CPT+ certification.
As a prerequisite, individuals seeking a CPT+ certification must first complete MSSC’s CPT program which equips individuals with the core competencies needed to succeed in production in all manufacturing sectors. The program consists of four Modules, each consisting of 40 hours of instruction and training:
Because the CPT+ is a “stackable” program, it is not required for individuals to complete the extra training on the Skill Boss to earn a CPT certification, nor does it affect the certification of anyone who has already completed MSSC’s CPT training.
The value-added of the additional Skill Boss training is worth the extra investment, both to individuals going through the program and to employers seeking to sharpen their incumbent workers’ production skills.
The Skill Boss is a computerized machine, designed and manufactured by Amatrol, that assesses 55 different skills from MSSC National Standards. It is capable of training and assessing users in skills related to advanced manufacturing discrete parts and process manufacturing.
The device is affordable, portable and compact — both it and its associated programmable logic controller (PLC) can fit on a 3×6 foot table. This makes it ideal for classrooms, and the price is affordable enough for even lower-income school districts.
Watch this video to see the Skill Boss in action:
Download the Skill Boss Fact Sheet for more information.
In CPT+ training, instructors will either integrate hands-on learning on the Skill Boss throughout each Module of CPT teaching, or they will complete the Module and afterwards assess the student with hands-on incorporation of skills learned during instruction. The Skill Boss adds an extra 15 hours of training to each Module.
Upon completion of training, CPT+ students will receive:
To learn more about the Skill Boss or CPT+ certification, contact ATS.
