NCCER international

The goal of NCCER’s Global Workforce Development Initiative is to create a standard recognized worldwide by industry, government and education as the training, assessment, certification and career development standard for the construction and maintenance craft professional.  With construction projects increasing throughout the world and the projected workforce shortages facing the industry looming larger than ever, the development of a mobile workforce with credentials recognized worldwide by construction employers has never been more important.

Overview of the International Accreditation Process

Policies & Procedures

NCCER’s policies and procedure for accreditation, including special considerations for international organizations, can be found in the NCCER Accreditation Guidelines (2016 Revision).

Timeline

The international accreditation typically takes anywhere from 3-12 months depending on a variety of factors.  In general, the accreditation process involves:

• the submission of information/documentation about your organization (i.e. type, organizational structure, documentation of legal standing to do business in country, business model)
• identifying intended language of delivery and availability of NCCER resources in that language
• documentation/evaluation of available resources and facilities (i.e. classrooms, computer labs, lab space for practical training/evaluation, field training opportunities)
• documentation/evaluation of literacy screening and/or remediation resources
• access to qualified instructors (i.e. journey level or highly experienced craft workers)
• the administrative and IT infrastructure within the organization
• projecting training enrollment and/or assessment delivery numbers per intended craft area
• evaluation of systems and processes in place to administer and maintain the integrity of a training and/or assessment program in compliance with NCCER policies

Once an International Workforce Development Opportunity form is completed and the organization is determined to be eligible for accreditation by NCCER, the organization will submit the following documentation to the NCCER International Services department:

• Form 100 (for training program applicants) and/or Form 100A (for assessment program applicants)
• Proof of business (i.e. Certificate of Incorporation, Certificate of LLC, Business License, Company By-Laws, etc.)
• Completed credit application
• Letters of recommendation from clients and/or users
• Organizational chart
• Certificate of Insurance or Notarized Security Letter (for assessment program applicants only)

After internal review of the application, NCCER may grant the organization “Applicant” status and will work with the organization to schedule the delivery of the Master Trainer/Instructor Certification Training Program (for training sponsors) and/or Administrator Certification Training Program (for assessment centers) at the applicant’s facilities.  Depending on the location of the applicant, the language of delivery needed and other factors, NCCER may decide to allow the applicant’s personnel to attend the Master Trainer and/or Administrator programs at one of the scheduled NCCER programs offered monthly at various locations throughout the United States.  All such NCCER programs in the U.S. are taught in the English language only. A schedule of these classes can be found on the NCCER website at myNCCER.

After completion of the NCCER personnel training programs and the completion of the pre-accreditation site visit by an auditor, NCCER will review the auditor’s findings and determine whether any action steps are required to be taken by the organization before provisional accreditation can be granted.  The applicant may be granted “Candidate” status or have its application denied at this time.  Organizations granted “Candidate” status are provisionally accredited for 12 months to conduct all the activities of an NCCER Accredited Training Sponsor and/or Accredited Assessment Center, as applicable.  An NCCER audit of the training and/or assessment program will be conducted after the first 12 months of “Candidate” status.  If the organization is found to be in compliance after the initial 12 months, the organization may be granted “Accredited” status.  At this point, the organization will be audited once every 3 years for ongoing compliance with NCCER policies and procedures. 

Fees & Costs

For international organizations, the accreditation fee varies depending on our costs to provide the above-described services in a given market.