IPC Updates Training and Certification Programs

IPC—Association Connecting Electronics Industries has released the training and certification programs for revision E of IPC-A-610, Acceptability of Electronics Assemblies, and J-STD-001, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies.

Each standard supports a related training and certification course for trainers and for application specialists, leading to the certified IPC trainer (CIT) and certified IPC application specialist (CIS) credentials respectively.

IPC certification provides companies with a standardized industry-approved program for staff training that is based on more than 15 years of experience as well as comments from users. As IPC Director of Certification Jack Crawford explains, many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) recognize IPC certification and use it as a selection factor when evaluating electronics manufacturing services (EMS) companies. Currently, there are more than 42,000 certified application specialists and 6,400 certified trainers worldwide for IPC-A-610 and J-STD-001 combined.

"The updates to the training and certification programs reflect the dramatic technological changes that have taken place in the past five years and what we've learned through best industry practices," says Crawford. "In addition, the IPC-A-610 CIS exam has been restructured to reduce the number of questions, but still assure a comprehensive understanding of the criteria."

CIT candidates receive intensive training at one of 53 IPC-authorized certification centers worldwide. The CIT designation is bestowed after successful completion of a certification exam at the end of the training. In turn, CITs receive instructional materials for training application specialists in modular training programs. The modular approach helps companies control their employee development costs by providing training in only the subject matter related to an individual's work assignments. Certified IPC application specialist (CIS) training can conveniently take place at a company facility.

Revision E of J-STD-001 and IPC-A-610 standards and the associated certification programs are being translated into Chinese, Spanish, German, Danish, Swedish, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Czech and Romanian with additional languages to follow.

www.ipc.org/certification