ITI to Exclusively Offer NCCCO Operator Certification | Industry News

Industrial Training International announces it will endorse the national certification programs offered by the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO), and will prepare candidates for certification examinations at its training centers and at client locations.

Over the past three years, ITI has completed more than 1,000 nationally-accredited certifications with its customers in crane operations, rigging, and signaling, between both Crane Institute Certification (CIC) and NCCCO certification programs. As of Jan. 1, 2015, the organization will be exclusively recommending the NCCCO certification programs to its customers.

Zack Parnell, vice president & COO of ITI, said, "Considering the growth plans we have for our organization, we believe that at this point in time, and for the foreseeable future, no other certification body is better positioned to bring to our customers domestically and abroad."

ITI has initially applied for the approval of its training centers in Woodland, Wash., Memphis, Tenn., and Edmonton, Alberta, as NCCCO exam sites. The organization has plans to also gain approval to conduct testing at its center in Rio de Janeiro, and at its regional centers in Alaska and California.

Additionally, ITI will certify 14 of its instructors in the USA, Canada, and Brazil, in various certifications and "practical examiner" statuses depending on their skillsets and client demands.

ITI employees have served in volunteer capacities on the NCCCO Rigging Task Force. Its Woodland, Wash., and Birmingham, Ala., locations have also served as practical exam sites over the past two decades.

Joseph Kuzar, assistant training manager at ITI, will serve as the corporate delegate to NCCCO and act as the liaison between the two organizations. Kuzar has been a full-time instructor with ITI since 2012 and is based in Virginia.

Course and certification combinations at ITI Training Centers will be incorporated over the next two years beginning with NCCCO Signalperson, Rigger Level I, Rigger Level II. This will be followed by Lift Director, Mobile Crane Inspector, and other certifications.  

Parnell commented on the nature of ITI's courses and how they interact with certification, "Our customers demand us to provide world-leading crane, rigging, and lifting education through hands-on training and challenging, interactive classroom sessions. Our courses are not designed for test preparation; the instructional design is focused on skills-building and retention through tactile, experiential learning. However, our team has been very successful incorporating certification exams around our highly-demanded courses, giving our customers the option to qualify their skills with nationally-accredited certification programs."