Article

Assessing the Professional Development Needs of the National Association of Industrial Technology’s Industry Division Members

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Abstract

Last year NAIT proudly celebrated its 40 th anniversary and reminisced about the many accomplishments it has achieved through the efforts of its dedicated and talented leadership. The past leadership was successful by maintaining NAIT’s vision and adapting to the changing demands of education and manufacturing. Two of the cornerstones of NAIT’s stated vision are: 1. The promotion of industrial technology in business, industry, education, and government; 2. The certification of industrial technologists and the recognition of their continued professional development. While it’s widely accepted that NAIT performs this duty to the satisfaction of its three academic divisions, there is strong evidence that the industry division is being overlooked and underserved. The industry division has averaged the second largest member- ship for a division over the past three years, but suffers from the lowest conference attendance of any division at approximately 1% of its membership (D. Monforton, personal communication, April 26, 2003). Compared to an approximated 25% representation from the other divisions, the industry division membership representation is virtually nonexistent. Why is this observation important to a conference that is 99% students and academicians? The importance resides in NAIT’s long term growth strategy that depends upon the demand of our students, success of our graduates, and competitiveness of United States manufacturers.

Keywords: certification|leadership|NAIT|professional development|research

How to Cite:

DeRuntz, B. & Meier, R. L., (2004) “Assessing the Professional Development Needs of the National Association of Industrial Technology’s Industry Division Members”, Journal of Industrial Technology 20(2).