Left: Steve Harrington, Industry Liaison, National Center for Supply Chain Automation, CA
Center: Valorie Piper, PI, National Center for Supply Chain Automation, Norco College, CA
Right: Tyler Kennedy, Communications Specialist, Manufacturing Skills Standards Council, VA

The National Center for Supply Chain Automation started a collaborative journey years ago with a vision to create an industry validated certification program preparing skilled technicians to work in today’s highly automated supply chain. The certification development vision was finally realized in March of 2020 when the Certified Technician-Supply Chain Automation Program was rolled out. During this journey, something innovative occurred—the invention of a hands-on skills verification device that teaches and assesses 100 hands-on required skills (Amatrol Skill Boss Logistics device). NCSCA, hosted by Norco College, with the support of the Manufacturing Skills Standards Council, spoke about this journey, lessons learned in the process, how the collaborative partnership occurred, and how an apprenticeship program became intertwined at a spotlight panel session at the 2022 Advanced Technical Education Conference in Washington, DC on October 27th with over 800 registrants.