Expanding Educational Opportunities for Nondestructive Testing Technicians

美国公司对熟练无损检测技术人员的需求正以稳定的速度增长。这些技术人员确保了航空航天、建筑、制造和运输等行业制成品的质量和安全。公司通常会制定自己的内部培训计划。技术人员获得的证书可能只在特定的公司得到认可，或者只包括几种测试方法。有限数量的教育机构提供无损检测技术的课程或项目。为了跟上对无损检测技术人员不断增长的劳动力需求，国家需要更多的教育计划，提供完整的专业准备。为了满足这一需求，洛雷恩县社区学院将与两个国家行业协会和主要的技术人员雇主合作，确定所需的技能、学生的学习成果和无损检测项目的最佳实践。该项目有可能加强对未来无损检测技术人员的准备，以满足国家劳动力的需求。该项目的主要目标是发展社区大学的能力，培养学生从事无损检测技术工作的能力。该项目将涉及Lorain县社区学院、美国无损检测协会、美国焊接协会基金会和行业合作伙伴之间的合作。它将建立在美国国家科学基金会先前在查塔努加州立社区学院和爱荷华州立大学资助的两个项目的基础上，这些项目专注于这一技术领域。两个机构还将合作完成项目活动。合作者将对一个技术人员工作级别进行工作任务分析。然后将结果与其他工作级别的现有工作任务分析相结合。本文旨在为无损检测技术人员建立全面的胜任力模型。这些能力模型将用于定义副学士学位的理想学生学习成果，包括可堆叠的证书。教育工作者以及行业的主题专家将审查并验证这些学习成果。将制定实施无损检测课程和项目的框架，并将其记录和传播。现有的面向高中、社区学院和大学教师的专业发展项目“焊接教育模块7”也将在洛雷恩县社区学院进行改进和测试。将制定和实施促进对无损检测技术和职业道路的认识的办法。这些战略将强调纳入代表性不足的群体和退伍军人，以增强劳动力的多样性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The demand among companies in the United States for skilled technicians in nondestructive testing (NDT) is growing at a steady rate. These technicians ensure the quality and safety of manufactured products in industries such as aerospace, construction, manufacturing, and transportation. Companies typically create their own internal training programs. The technician employees earn certifications that may only be recognized at a specific company or include only a few types of testing methods. A limited number of educational institutions offer courses or programs in NDT technology. To keep up with the increasing workforce demand for NDT technicians, the nation needs more educational programs that provide complete professional preparation. To meet this need, Lorain County Community College will collaborate with two national industry associations and leading employers of technicians to identify the required skills, student learning outcomes, and best practices for NDT programs. The project has the potential to enhance the preparation of future NDT technicians to meet the need in the nation's workforce. This project main goal is to develop the capacity of community colleges to educate students for jobs in the NDT technician workforce. The project will involve collaboration between Lorain County Community College, the American Society for Nondestructive Testing, the American Welding Society Foundation, and industry partners. It will build upon results from two prior NSF-funded projects at Chattanooga State Community College and Iowa State University that focused in this technology area. Both institutions will also collaborate to accomplish project activities. The collaborators will perform a job task analysis for one technician job level. The results will then be combined with existing job task analyses for the other job levels. This synthesis aims to create comprehensive competency models for NDT technicians. These competency models will be used to define the desirable student learning outcomes for an associate degree that includes stackable credentials. Educators, along with subject matter experts in industry, will review and validate these learning outcomes. A framework for implementing NDT courses and programs will be developed, documented, and disseminated. The existing professional development program, Weld-Ed Module 7, for high school, community college, and university faculty will also be refined and tested at Lorain County Community College. Approaches to promote awareness of NDT technology and career pathways will be developed and implemented. These strategies will emphasize the inclusion of underrepresented groups and veterans to enhance the diversity of the workforce.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.