Tooling U-SME, a leading provider of manufacturing training solutions, and UL, a global safety science company, have finalized an agreement to align training and certification to create a single source for professional additive manufacturing certification. The organizations signed a Letter of Intent in December 2017 to collaborate on enhanced workforce training and development efforts supporting manufacturers wanting to increase their capabilities in additive manufacturing. This formal agreement follows the successful pilot of the Additive Manufacturing Fundamentals Certification program at two of the industry's leading additive manufacturing and 3D printing events – the Additive Manufacturing Users Group Conference and RAPID + TCT – earlier this year. UL delivered the certification preparation class and Tooling U-SME provided the certification examination as part of the pilot offerings.

"This new partnership is the type of alliance the industry has been requesting for years, and we are pleased to collaborate with UL to address the market needs and bring this initiative to fruition," said Jeannine Kunz, vice president, Tooling U-SME. "Aligning UL's multitiered Additive Manufacturing Training Program to Tooling U-SME's Additive Manufacturing Certification program underscores our commitment to enhancing professional development of the advanced manufacturing workforce."  

UL and Tooling U-SME are now official partners in the Additive Manufacturing Professional Certification program, which is co-sponsored by America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute. This program is part of a growing portfolio of Tooling U-SME's learning and development solutions for the manufacturing community. UL introduced its additive manufacturing training program in 2014 – the first of its kind at the time – in cooperation with numerous industry leaders.

Under the new agreement, Tooling U-SME and UL will begin assessing necessary steps to develop the next phase of the initiative, the Additive Manufacturing Technician Certification program, which will be available later this year.

"With any new technology, proper education and training is vital to the continuation of innovation and growth," said Melissa Albrecht, global program manager of additive manufacturing, UL Ventures. "Through this collaboration, we are able to accelerate our efforts in advancing advanced manufacturing expertise among the incoming and incumbent workforce, creating countless opportunities for innovation in this industry."

The new partners will establish a formal Certification Oversight body to advise on the development and ongoing evolution of the Additive Manufacturing Certification program. Additive manufacturing professionals interested in serving on the Certification Oversight body should contact Jaimie Christie at Tooling U-SME (jchristie@sme.org) for more information.

To learn more about UL's additive manufacturing initiatives, click here. For more about Tooling U-SME's certification program and exam, visit Additive Manufacturing Fundamentals Certification.

About Tooling U-SME 
Tooling U-SME delivers versatile, competency-based learning and development solutions to the manufacturing community, working with thousands of companies including more than half of all Fortune 500® manufacturing companies, as well as 600 educational institutions across the country. Tooling U-SME partners with customers to build high performers who help their companies drive quality, productivity, innovation, and employee satisfaction. Working directly with hundreds of high schools, community colleges, and universities, Tooling U-SME is also able to help prepare the next generation workforce by providing industry-driven curriculum. A division of SME, an organization that connects people to manufacturing solutions, Tooling U-SME can be found at toolingu.com, facebook.com/toolingu or follow @ToolingU on Twitter.

About UL
UL fosters safe living and working conditions for people everywhere through the application of science to solve safety, security and sustainability challenges. The UL Mark engenders trust enabling the safe adoption of innovative new products and technologies. Everyone at UL shares a passion to make the world a safer place. We test, inspect, audit, certify, validate, verify, advise and train and we support these efforts with software solutions for safety and sustainability. To learn more about us, visit UL.com.