Electronics Technicians Association


The Electronics Technicians Association, International is a US-based not-for-profit 501 6 professional association founded in 1978. The association provides certifications in industries such as basic electronics, fiber optics and data cabling, renewable energy, information technology, photonics and precision optics, customer service, biomedical, avionics, wireless communications, radar, and smart home. ETA is also one of the 13 COLEMs for U.S. Federal Communications Commission testing. ETA works with technicians, educators, and military personnel. ETA also partners with companies such as Motorola Solutions to provide certification to their employees.

History

In 1965 the U.S. Labor Department, Bureau of Apprenticeship & Training instigated a jobs program in cooperation with NEA. Local school systems, local TV association members and USDL worked together on an 8,000 hour apprenticeship program aimed at solving the labor shortage problem while finding new vocations for those put out of work by modern technology. This new program would reward trainees, but would not cover experienced technicians. Because of this, the Certified Electronics Technician program was created.
In 1970 a group of technicians decided to form an organization to promote the CET program and the electronics industry as a whole. This organization would be called the International Society of Certified Electronics Technicians. It became a subdivision of NEA.
In the mid-1970s NEA and NATESA merged to form the National Electronic Service Dealers Association with ISCET remaining as a subdivision. Due to a power struggle within the organization, ETA was formed in 1978 by a group of former NESDA members and officers. Among those were Richard "Dick" Glass and Ron Crow, two of the original founders of the CET program and only administrators at that time. This made it easy to continue the CET program with the new organization.
In 1993 ETA became a COLEM for the FCC Commercial Radio License program and offers professionals the chance to sit for seven different FCC commercial licenses at ETA test sites.
From the 1980s to the present, ETA has continued to expand their certification offerings to fill knowledge and skills assessment gaps in technology. ETA works with many different educators, businesses, and trainers to create vendor-neutral accredited certifications. ETA certifications are used by many different sectors including secondary and post-secondary schools, training businesses, corporations, government agencies, and the U.S. military.

Certifications

ETA offers certifications in various knowledge areas, but does not offer courses or training in these areas. ETA does, however, offer endorsements of courses offered through educational institutions through their Course Approval program. Maintenance or renewal of certifications is required to keep in line with the ISO-17024 standards. Most certifications are good for four years.

Basic Electronics Certifications

All technical certifications are accredited by the International Certification Accreditation Council and align with the ISO-17024 standards. Independent audits are conducted on a regular basis to ensure compliance.

Membership

Membership is open to anyone who is involved in one of the industries ETA serves. Membership allows voting rights for such things as yearly officer elections and service awards as well as by-law changes and other association business. ETA offers six types of membership for educators, professionals, technicians, and students. Each membership includes an subscription to the High Tech News, ETA's bi-monthly membership magazine.