The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) has developed national, voluntary certification examinations that assess and certify the knowledge and skills of plastics operations employees. The universal designation of NCP Certified Operator can be achieved through one of four test versions. For detailed information on National Certification, please visit the NCP website at http://www.certifyme.org/.

What is National Certification in Plastics?
National Certification in Plastics is the national standard, developed by the plastics industry, of skills and knowledge plastics operations employees should possess. National certification promotes a consistent standard of performance across the industry; diagnoses employee deficiencies and strengths and develops qualified, competent, and motivated employees.

Why is certification important?
Certification is a gauge of employee skills in the plastics industry. It proves that employees know their jobs and contribute to the growth and direction of the company. It proves that companies are serious about meeting the national standard and using the workforce’s contributions to excel in the marketplace.

Who should be certified?
The National Certification in Plastics is geared to skilled machine operators, process technicians, setup technicians, supervisors, and others with overall responsibility for plastics production machine operations. NCP is not a certification for entry-level production workers, packers, attendants, etc., although such workers may wish to become certified in the future to qualify for more skilled positions. The requirements for NCP certification are:

• a working oral command of the English language. (A working command is required for candidates to orally communicate with colleagues, provide/receive oral instructions, warn of danger, etc.)


• English literacy and reading comprehension skills at or above the sixth grade level. (A working command of written English and reading comprehension are required for candidates to understand written instructions, warnings, signs, etc. and allow written communication with colleagues)


• basic math skills. (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, fractions and decimals.)

Which plastics processes are tested through the NCP exams?
Exam versions are available in:

• Blow Molding


• Extrusion


• Injection Molding


• Thermoforming

Does NCP provide standard training or curriculum?
The research to develop the National Certification in Plastics exams produced a body of knowledge that every plastics operations employee needs to be able to pass the examination. This body of knowledge is outlined in the NCP Candidate Handbook under the section, “What You Need to Know.” This knowledge is the BASIS for curricula developed by private training and community college training programs. The body of knowledge covers seven key areas:

1. basic process control
   
   
2. general knowledge
   
   
3. material handling/storage/preservation and delivery
   
   
4. quality assurance
   
   
5. preventive and corrective action on primary and secondary equipment
   
   
6. safety
   
   
7. tools and equipment.

A list of trainers and educators that support the NCP standard is available upon request or via the NCP website.

How are the exams delivered?
The NCP exams are delivered by two methods – online or at a testing center. The exam candidate or company much first specify the exam being taken, whether it will be online or at a testing center and receive an authorization to test code. The authorization to test code is a unique 10 digit code required for all exams. Codes may be purchased through the NCP Operations Center or online at www.certifyme.org.

Online – The exam may be taken online via the internet from any internet accessible PC at an authorized, secured testing environment such as a community college, library, even in-plant. The online exam requires an independent proctor to affirm the exam’s security and to login the exam candidate. Annotated instructions to logon for an exam are available from the NCP Operations center at (202) 974-5356.

Test Center – There are more than 300 Prometric Testing Centers nationwide where candidates can take the NCP exam. The candidate must call (800) 715-8345 to schedule a convenient date, time and location to take the exam.

How much does an NCP exam cost?
The cost is $300 for per exam. However for SPI members, the cost is $200 per exam. Exam authorizations may be purchased online from the NCP website (http://www.certifyme.org/) or through the NCP Operations center (202) 974-5356. The NCP exam is available to all companies.

What is the source of the NCP exam questions?
The exam questions were created from specific sections and subsections from the body of knowledge in a highly controlled and specific, content-based process. Operators, supervisors and technicians wrote the questions under strict instruction from the Chauncey Group International, a subsidiary of Educational Testing Services of Princeton, NJ.

The exam is a sampling of skills and knowledge needed by a plastics operations employee. The exam content will vary on each version of the exam given. This way, candidates repeating the exam will not see the same versions twice.

Are the NCP exams graded on a curve?
No. Passing scores were established by an independent group of industry experts (representing all plastics production processes) and are not effected by exam performance.

Is the exam administered in Spanish?
SPI is currently evaluating the need for a Spanish version of the test and will inform participants of its availability.

Can companies have a copy of the test?
Sorry, but no. The exam questions must be kept secure to prevent any candidate from gaining an unfair advantage, even unintended, over other candidates by seeing the exam prior to testing. Sample questions similar to those found on the exam can be found in the NCP Candidate Handbook’s “Sample Questions” section.

Can companies receive a copy of the exam results?
Yes, provided that the candidates selects this option when registering to take the exam. We recommend that companies paying for the exam establish an understanding with the employee (prior to the exam date) regarding access to results.

What is SPI doing to continuously improve the program?
We regularly seek to improve the ability to measure a plastic operations employee’s knowledge and skill levels. Our first priority is to ensure that the NCP Certified Operator exams have value and are used by the industry. To accomplish these goals, the exams are reviewed and updated each year with new questions that reflect changes in plastics processing technology.

For more information on NCP contact:
Barbara Darby, National Certification in Plastics, phone: 864.239.2939 or 1-888-627-3660; e-mail: bdarby@socplas.org.