TSSB-Recognized Skill Standards
October 24, 2006

Background

These national skill standards for the metalforming occupation were developed by the Precision Metalforming Association in September, 1995. The standards are maintained by the National Institute for Metalworking Skills, Inc. (NIMS). They are actively in use as the major centerpiece of new national competency-based apprenticeship guideline standards for press setup operators, and have been incorporated into the programs of the Job Corps of the U.S. Department of Labor and are in use by numerous companies and training programs.

Importance to Texas

Metal formers perform finish-forming, checking and re-forming of machine-formed extruded and sheet metal parts. They form parts to final dimensions using metal forming equipment such as presses, brakes, and rolls.

The metalforming occupation falls into the broad occupational category of machinists. According to the occupational profile data presented by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), machinists earn an average hourly wage of almost $15.00. The profession is expected to grow by just less than 6% between 2002 and 2012. That figure does not tell a complete story, however. While a small number of openings per year (148) are forecasted due to growth, or the creation of new positions, almost 600 openings per year are forecasted due to replacement, or workers leaving existing positions either through job change or retirement. This puts a unique challenge on industry to recruit and train candidates to fill these openings. Skill standards are a way of preserving the knowledge that experienced workers take with them when they leave a job, and a method for transferring that knowledge to new workers, or to help incumbent workers expand their skills and advance in their careers.

TSSB Recognition

The metal forming skill standards were originally recognized by the TSSB at its November 2001 meeting. At its October 2006 meeting, the TSSB again recognized the skill standards at the request of the National Institute of Metalworking skills, the nation’s only American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited developer of precision manufacturing skill standards and competency assessments, whose stakeholders represent over 6,000 American companies.