CERTIFICATION and NATIONAL CERTIFICATION

WHAT DOES CERTIFICATION MEAN?
Certification does not refer to the state of legally being able to practice or work in a profession or to operate heavy equipment. That is licensure. Usually, licensure is administered by a governmental entity for public protection purposes and conversely, certification is completed by a professional association or certification body that is recognized by an employer. However, licensure and certification are similar in that they both require the demonstration of a certain level of knowledge or ability. Unfortunately, the heavy equipment operator industry has no nationwide governmental entity that requires licensure for operting heavy equipment. In fact, in most states you can operate heavy equipment without any formal training, licensure, and/or certification. However, most heavy equipment training institutions througout the country have some mechanism for graduating, certfying, assessing their graduates. NAHETS member schools have assessment tools designed to ensure that each member school graduate has been measured for successful completion of a skill or skill set and knowledge. Note, NAHETS member schools cannot guarantee their graduates will obtain certification by any entity including NAHETS; however, member school graduates are prepared for the administration of a certification test or assessment tool available to graduates of their school. It is only upon successfully completing the certification requirements of the certifying entity that a student can truly be certified by that entity.

Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, or assessment. One of the most common types of certification in modern society is professional certification, where a person is certified as being able to competently complete a job or task, usually by the passing of an examination. Hence, NAHETS member schools utilize different certifications for measure of successful completion, which may include one of the following:

School/College Certification (diploma, or certificate of completion issued at graduation)

NAHETS (OPCAT) Certification (for password email password@nahets.com)

NCCCO: National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators

NCCER: National Center for Construction Education and Research

NUCA: (National Utility Contractors Association, check your campus for availability of the NUCA certification)

(IMPORTANT NOTE: Prospective students should research the certifications acceptance within their chosen field. The term national certification carries different meanings to different people. Ideally, it is your employer and industry which may offer the most value in terms of national acceptance of any certification.) Additionally, it is important for any student to contact their campus of choice when discussing the certifications offered to graduates of that particular institution.

There are two general types of professional certification: some are valid for lifetime, once the exam is passed. Others have to be re certified again after a certain period of time. As a heavy equipment operator the ability to find employment is not necessarily directly related to a certification. Some employers may require certification for insurance purposes, etc..; however, generally heavy equipment operators are not required to possess a certification as a condition of their employment as a heavy equipment operator. Also, certifications can differ within a profession by the level or specific area of expertise they refer to. For example, the heavy equipment industry lacks any national standard certification and/or licensure; although there is standardized published training curriculum and certification offered at schools and other organizations nationwide including NAHETS member schools.

WHAT DOES NATIONAL MEAN?
There is no single governmental entity that recognizes heavy equipment operators or crane operators on a unified governmental or industry level. Many "national certification" bodies are unrecognizable to the common person; unlike the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Bar Association (ABA), nevertheless, the value of certifying bodies from diving to truck driving exist and add a value to their respective occupations and meet the strict definition of "national certification" entities. NAHETS' understanding of the term national represents an entity with an assessment tool and or certification tool that has had successful implementation from students and institutions covering a large area of the country, (click here) to see map of United States with pins indicating student's residence for 2008 member school graduates. Additionally, a national certifying body should have a resource for interested parties, nationwide, to verify the existence of the individual within the records of the certifying body, and NAHETS yellowmetalusa.com contains that data available to qualified parties.

NAHETS current member schools are Atlanta, Oklahoma, Nevada and California and graduates from member schools cover most of the 50 states in the United States. Hence, NAHETS term of national comes in their members geographic locations and the employers that have hired graduates from NAHETS member schools. Note: See NAHETS privacy policy for more information related to NAHETS and ownership.