In the 1980's, electrical distributors realized they needed a training program that would teach their associates about not only the products being sold but how those products work together in a system. But their search for such a program was unsuccessful. So they turned to NAED.
NAED collaborated with industry experts and supply chain partners to develop the Electrical Products Education Course (EPEC) to address this need. The program has since expanded the course from the main Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels to also include specialty areas in Lighting, Automation, and Datacom & Video.
EPEC began in 1986 as a set of cassette tapes with an accompanying print workbook. It remained in this format for almost two decades until transitioning to a print version with an online option.
As our industry has become more digital, we have continued to evolve the course, offering an entirely electronic version in 2017. The decision to make the full course electronic in 2017 meant changing the way companies managed EPEC with their associates. But, the fact that students and managers can now complete and access all of the course materials online is a benefit to the way we are currently having to work.
Having the content available in an interactive online format as well as in an electronic PDF book means that students can access it anywhere they have a computer or tablet, and they can submit their work without having to mail workbooks and incur potential delays due to shipping issues. Receiving the workbooks electronically allows our EPEC Reviewers to work more efficiently and send feedback more quickly than they could before. Managers can easily access their associates’ progress and scores in the NAED Learning Center (NLC), and can request copies of completed workbooks for reference and record keeping.
Our new learning center has allowed for even more digital integration. And, with our 2020 updates, we have been able to offer an improved exam user experience and better results tracking. We will continue to leverage the advanced features of the NLC to incorporate more online functionality in the future so that our students and EPEC Reviewers can have a full cohesive course experience within the learning center. As our members work to become more agile in the digital environment, NAED is here to support those efforts and ease the transition.
As always, we appreciate and encourage your thoughts and feedback on the course. Please contact Kitty Lasinski or Kelly Jones with your ideas, input and suggestions. Need help? Contact EPEC@naed.org.
Kitty Lasinski
Kitty Lasinski has been working with various forms of education technology since she started as a video producer at the University of Missouri in the 1990's. As Education Product Manager, she leads NAED’s team of instructional designers and oversees the development and licensing of our online educational courses. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and is passionate about problem solving, communicating and creating engaging, effective content.