ISO 9001: 2000 CERTIFICATION EARNED BY BERKS CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER

The Berks Career and Technology Center has been awarded the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System (QMS) certification for its commitment to provide high quality career and technical education to its customers (students, parents, sending districts, business, industry, and the community). SRI Quality System Registrar, an internationally accredited registrar for quality management systems, presented the certification. The certification has a three-year registration period and must be reviewed every three years in order to maintain the status.

According to A. Joseph Falcsik, SRI’s vice president of certification, "we are pleased to acknowledge that Berks Career and Technology Center has demonstrated effective implementation of a quality management system. ISO 9001:2000 certification provides evidence to customers, suppliers, employees, and their community of their commitment to producing a quality product (service) and providing customer satisfaction."

ISO 9001:2000 is process-based certification that recognizes organizations that link business objectives with operating effectiveness. Companies that achieve Quality Management System certification to ISO 9001: 2000 have demonstrated effective implementation of documentation and records management, top management’s commitment to their customers, establishment of clear policy, good planning and implementation, good resource management, efficient process control, measurement and analysis. Continual improvement has been institutionalized.

The Berks Career and Technology Center was established in 1968 under the direction of its sixteen member school districts to provide career preparation for high school students and adults. Over the years, the BCTC has made a significant impact on the workforce of the county, graduating over 16,000 students and providing the foundation for Berks County’s current labor market.

According to Dr. Robert A. Runkle, administrative director, the benefits from the ISO 9001:2000 certification will be realized now and well into the future. "The certification clearly establishes a foundation for continuous improvement and focuses the entire organization on quality educational services for our customers," explained Runkle. Linda J. Marley, BCTC supervisor of curriculum and professional development, who supervised the ISO preparation, agrees with the potential that the certification provides to BCTC. "The ISO reviews will assure that we continue to implement and maintain an effective quality system that continues to meet our mission statement and our System Wide Quality Objectives. The ISO process will keep us focused on obtaining our goal of continual improvement of our system," stated Marley.