AATA and NDTMA Partner on Nationwide Nondestructive Testing Apprenticeship Program

 

ADDITIONAL STATE PROGRAMS UNDERWAY IN CA&TX WITH OTHER STATES PENDING 

​

Los Angeles, CA, July 13, 2023 – The Nondestructive Testing Management Association (NDTMA), a nonprofit trade association for the nondestructive testing industry, and the American Aerospace Technical Academy (AATA), today announced their partnership on a nationwide apprenticeship program.

​

In 2016, AATA received approval from the U.S. Department of Labor to establish an NDT apprenticeship program as well as serve as an approved program provider in California.  Recently, AATA also established a mutual agreement to be a program provider with the state of Texas and have five other state approvals pending. AATA is now partnering with NDTMA to help expand the reach of the program to both apprentices and employers nationwide.

 

The NDT industry, even before Covid times, faced a major shortfall in the availability of technicians. With an aging workforce and a high demand for certified inspectors, a robust apprenticeship program is desperately needed in the industry.

 

“NDT is a great career that does not require a college degree and has a lot of earning potential. It does require completion of a specific curriculum and work experience for certification and, more importantly, for competency in a job that keeps the public safe,” stated Marybeth Miceli, Executive Director of NDTMA. “The apprenticeship program that AATA has established over the years is designed to accomplish this and we are excited to help them expand the program to more companies and apprentices nationwide through our membership and marketing programs.”  

​

AATA’s apprenticeship program currently meets the educational and on-the-job training guidelines of NAS-410, primarily used in the aviation and aerospace sector, as well as SNT TC-1A, a widely accepted employer-based certification guideline for the NDT industry. The intention is that the 2 year program will be expanded to include oil & gas sector specific training so that technicians who wish to get additional sector certifications can do so.

​

“Looking at the mission of NDTMA and the work they have done over the past few years, we see that they are dedicated to helping the industry thrive. The workforce challenges facing NDT are the number one problem in the industry and we are confident that NDTMA will help us tackle these problems for the benefit of the whole industry, while keeping the apprentice and employer needs at the forefront,” said John Stewart, Executive Director and Founder of AATA.

​

Through AATA’s already established NDT Apprenticeship program, Federal and State grant funding helps provide free training to apprentices and eases the financial burden to participating companies. To find out more and get information on how to participate visit www.aatatraining.org.

​

 

The Apprenticeship Process for Companies

• Employer Acceptance Agreement to Train Apprentices:

  • APPENDIX E

    • NOTE: Only the top portion needs to be filled out by the employer.

• ​Process for Employers Access to Prospective Employees

  • Prospective Employee/Employer interview time and date TBD and posted on NDTMA and AATA.

    • https://www.ndtma.org/apprenticeship-program

    • https://www.aatatraining.org/

​

• Meet with the candidates and interview them to see if the candidate is a good fit for your company. Companies to interview candidates at ASNT Houston training facility. Expected number of candidates to interview is 30-40.

• If the candidate is likely to be hired by the company, then an intent to hire letter will need to be addressed to the candidate. Stipulations could be dependent on candidate attendance and scores and in addition to the employers’ openings at the time of graduation. It's okay to interview, supply a letter of intent and then not hire if stipulations are not met and the employer needs change.

• Hire the candidate Part Time for no more than 29 hours a week for 10 weeks at no cost. Salary and work comp paid by the state of TX! (Not required but recommended)

• If the candidate does well in the first 10 weeks, hire the candidate FT and have the state of TX cover 75% of their salary for an additional 16 weeks. (Not required but recommended)

• Once the candidate has completed six months, apply for the approved tax credit through the state which can award the employer anywhere from $2500-$15000 per candidate. (Not required but recommended)

 

Note: That's it. At the end of 6-7 months, you have a proven NDT technician that will still have access to additional NDT training at essentially no cost to your company