ANSI participates in Sustainability Education Summit..
Press Release Summary:
ANSI helped sponsor US Department of Education's (DoE) Sustainability Education Summit, which articulated actions for education, business and industry, government, as well as environmental community to promote transition to sustainable green economy. Keynote address announced efforts to prepare incoming workers for challenges and opportunities as sustainability becomes focus of employment future. Examples include ANSI's Certificate Accreditation Program.
Original Press Release:
ANSI Accreditation Helps to Bolster American Workforce
As part of its ongoing commitment to strengthen America's workforce, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) was a sponsor of the U.S. Department of Education's (DoE) recent Sustainability Education Summit. The goal of the summit was to articulate action steps for education, business and industry, government, and the environmental community to promote the transition to a sustainable green economy.
In his keynote address during the September 20-21, 2010, event, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced efforts at DoE and other federal agencies, and within the private sector, to prepare the next generation of workers for the challenges and opportunities taking shape as sustainability becomes a focus of the employment future.
"This announcement is the latest example of our work to support reform across states, districts, and neighborhoods across America. We call it the 'Quiet Revolution,'" Secretary Duncan said. "Work is taking hold in corporations, in other agencies of the federal government, as well as colleges, universities, and schools across the country."
In its ongoing to commitment to fostering a more robust and qualified American workforce that responds to key national needs and priorities, ANSI is actively engaged in accreditation activities that enhance the credentialing of personnel and support secondary and post-secondary career pathways.
Certificate Accreditation Program (ANSI-CAP)
Thousands of certificates are issued to American workers each year in a broad range of disciplines. To help strengthen confidence and promote best practices for organizations offering education and training certificates, ANSI's Certificate Accreditation Program (ANSI-CAP) accredits organizations that issue education and training certificates to the U.S. workforce.
Through ANSI-CAP accreditation, organizations are able to demonstrate their commitment to the continual improvement of their certificate programs, which in turn helps to boost the confidence of consumers and employers who rely on education and training certificates nationwide.
Certificate programs are evaluated for potential accreditation against the American National Standard ASTM E2659, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs. By demonstrating compliance to this standard, accredited certificate programs in many disciplines further the development of a well-educated and qualified workforce, one of President Obama's chief goals. The accreditation program also provides quality benchmarks for the design of future certificate programs. With these benchmarks, workers and employers are better able to determine the value and meaning of training and educational certificates, helping to boost the overall quality of the American workforce.
Accreditation Program for Personnel Certification Bodies
To date, over 5.2 million professionals hold certifications from organizations accredited under ANSI's personnel certification programs. From energy and engineering to healthcare and food safety, ANSI has accredited more than seventy personnel certification programs in a range of industry sectors.
The ANSI accreditation process is designed to increase the integrity, confidence, and mobility of certified professionals. Because the ANSI accreditation program is based on nationally and internally accepted standards, professionals who pursue an ANSI-accredited certification credential benefit from recognition across state and national jurisdictions. ANSI's accreditation program is based on the international standard ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024, Conformity assessment - General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons.
ANSI is the only personnel certification accreditation body in the U.S. to meet globally accepted practices for accreditation bodies. As such, a number of U.S. government agencies have looked to ANSI accreditation for verification of quality of certification programs and to help improve practices, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
