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RFID technology will one day be as ubiquitous as e-commerce. But for that to happen, people have to be trained in selecting and using the technology. They need to know how RFID can change business processes throughout a company. Coursework must be based on end-user needs and dynamically evolve as skills required to implement RFID are revealed in real-world experiences. People need to be certified for defined jobs, just as they are in the information technology field today.

This prescription emerged recently when three groups involved in RFID education announced a corporate education initiative for RFID training and certification. DeVry University’s Center for Corporate Education is collaborating with the RFID Technical Institute Inc. (RTI; Cambridge, MA) and the International RFID Business Association (RFIDba; McLean, VA) to offer a nationwide training program leading to certification in RFID disciplines. RTI provides RFID education programs to private industry and government. RFIDba is a not-for-profit trade association focusing on RFID education to its end-user members.

“People are talking about [RFID] standards, but nobody is talking about the worker, and what they need to know to keep up to date. A key problem leading to project failure is lack of expertise,” says Ann Grackin, RTI chief executive officer and president.

As part of the initiative, RFIDba has commissioned a cross-industry assessment of RFID work processes. Through the study, work standards and job certifications will be defined. These standards will guide the content of the teaching curricula.

Applied Skills & Knowledge (ASK; Morristown, NJ), a work standards development company, will assess knowledge and skill requirements at “20 or 30 high-performance organizations” that use RFID, as part of its research, a company official said. ASK will develop an RFID work standards model. The model will serve as a blueprint for the course work developed by RTI and DeVry. The work standards will be updated annually, allowing educators to keep job-specific training up to date.

“With RFID so closely linked to business performance improvement, a holistic, systems approach to education is needed. It is therefore imperative that vendor-neutral education standards be established globally to meet the rising demand for relevant RFID skills and knowledge,” says Harry Pappas, chief executive officer and founder, RFIDba.

As part of its research into end-users’ needs, ASK develops an “item bank”of questions meant to test skills based on the material that needs to be learned. “The questions are tested to determine how good a predictor they are of understanding the materials. They become the basis for testing the students in proficiency after they have completed the course work. The test is continually variable as the item bank is updated,” says Gene Fedors, director, education programs, RTI.

Course work will progress through four levels: fundamentals, advanced modules, technology implementation, and vertically specialized instruction by industry.

Students will earn continuing education credits and, eventually, certification. The job roles and their skill sets still remain to be defined. Titles might include “RFID technician,” “RFID systems architect,” or “RFID developer,” Fedors says.

The first 30-hour courses in fundamentals are to launch at DeVry campuses at Crystal City, VA, and North Brunswick, NJ, on July 25 and Aug. 1, respectively.

Training will soon be offered at DeVry locations around the country, including at Centers of Excellence that will be established. DeVry has more 78 learning facilities in 21 states.

“We expect to be nationwide by next year at most DeVry locations,” Graikin says.

Courses will include hands-on lab work using RFID hardware and software. “RFID is an experiential technology. Until you work with it, you really don’t understand its power,” she says.

The bottom line is that educators will have a vendor-neutral model for training, RFID professionals will be able to document their competence, and employers will know they are hiring highly skilled employees.

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