Growth sector

Metal & Advanced Material

19 modules and 137 scored items, generated from 41 occupations in this sector, 34 of them entry level. 18h 15m is the target time to evidence — what a learner with no prior credentialed record usually needs to reach a decision. It is time in this program, alongside whatever technical training the sector requires, not instead of it.

Target time to evidence

A planning figure, not a duration anyone must sit through: what a learner with no prior credentialed evidence usually needs to reach a decision. Individuals finish faster or take longer.

Draws on clusters: Manufacturing (39 shared), Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (5 shared), Architecture & Construction (2 shared)

Entry band: Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed

Built for the default stage: Workforce Entry

The baseline program. Nothing is assumed and nothing is skipped. Stage shapes the program and how results are described. It never changes a score.

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Bring your record

Already evidenced some of this? Upload your LER.

Two formats are read: a Verifiable Credential — a CLR or Open Badge .json from a wallet — or a résumé-style export (.pdf, .txt). Nothing you upload is stored.

Signed with a level — an issuer put their name and a standard on it. This can shorten modules up to the level it states.

Signed, completion only — an industry certificate such as OSHA 10 or ServSafe. It says you did the thing, not how well, so it counts up to Developing and no further.

Unsigned — a résumé, or a badge nobody put their name to. This tailors the scenarios you see. It does not shorten anything.

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Roles this targets

Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems AssemblersJZ2
Coil Winders, Tapers, and FinishersJZ2
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticJZ2
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticJZ2
Electrical and Electronic Equipment AssemblersJZ2
Electromechanical Equipment AssemblersJZ2

Conditions to train for

Process-driven · Quality-controlled · Repetitive · Equipment-intensive · Pace-sensitive

Settings: Manufacturing plants, Production floors, Industrial or processing facilities

Tools in the item bank

Spreadsheet software · Office suite software · Computer aided design CAD software · Word processing software · Electronic mail software · Enterprise resource planning ERP software

Where the target hours go

Actual time varies by design. A learner arriving with a signed credential skips modules; a learner whose answers settle a construct early stops being asked about it; a learner whose evidence sits on the line gets extension items and runs longer. The standard of evidence is fixed. The clock is not. Roughly 6 of these hours build the judgment around this sector's technical work and assess it; the technique itself is learned in your shop, lab, or placement.

Sector core: 5h 24m; The work itself — tasks, tools, settings, and standards of this sector's entry roles.
Durable skills: 5h 56m; The ten domains, weighted by what this sector's occupations actually demand.
AI at work: 3h 4m; The AI use already documented in these occupations, and the judgment it requires.
Work readiness: 1h 59m; Safety, compliance, workplace norms, and turning evidence into a hire.
Capstone: 1h 37m; One artifact and one interview that carry the weight of the whole program.

Durable skill weighting for this sector

Derived from the clusters this sector's occupation profiles name as primary. All ten are taught and all ten are scored — the weighting decides how much time and how many items each one gets. See the framework reference for what each cluster covers.

MindfulnessReading the room and the person in front of you.16%
MetacognitionRunning your own work: planning it, timing it, catching your own errors.16%
CharacterBeing someone the shift can be built around.16%
FortitudeStaying steady and finishing when the day goes sideways.15%
Critical ThinkingWorking out what's actually going on before acting on it.10%
CollaborationDoing your part of shared work so the next person's part goes well.10%
CommunicationGetting information to land — in person, in writing, and on a screen.5%
LeadershipMoving work and people forward, with or without a title.4%
CreativityFinding a workable way through when the standard way doesn't fit.4%
Growth MindsetStarting things, and getting better at them on purpose.4%

AI skills scored for this sector

Sorted from 232 AI-at-work statements observed in these occupations, not from a generic AI literacy list. 3 competency/level slots had no material in this sector's data and use a framework descriptor instead: ai-ethics-disclosure/emerging, ai-ethics-disclosure/developing, ai-ethics-disclosure/proficient.

Prompting & tasking
Turning a real work request into instructions a tool can act on, with the context and constraints the job requires.
Entry bar: Gets a usable first draft or first pass on the second try, not the tenth.
Output verification
Checking output against the source, the standard, or the physical work before anyone relies on it.
Entry bar: Never forwards an AI output they haven't checked against something real.
Data & privacy judgment
Knowing what may be entered into a tool, what may not, and which rules govern the record.
Entry bar: Can say, before pasting, whether this text is allowed in this tool.
Tool selection & workflow fit
Choosing the right tool for the task and putting its output into the real workflow or handoff.
Entry bar: Picks the tool that fits the task, and lands the output where the next person needs it.
Escalation & human oversight
Recognizing where the tool's judgment stops and a person's has to take over.
Entry bar: Stops and escalates on the cases the tool is not allowed to decide.
Disclosure & fair use
Telling people when AI was involved, crediting sources, and noticing unequal treatment.
Entry bar: Discloses AI involvement where policy requires it, without being reminded.

The program

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