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Nida Corp. benefits from continued demand for skilled electronics technicians

by Kathy Hagood
Brevard Technical Journal

A beautiful atrium welcomes visitors to Nida Corporation's Melbourne facility. Photo by Mike Giannacco, © 2005.

Melbourne-based Nida Corp. continues to garner impressive electronics training systems contracts with the military, industry and academia.

As the demand for skilled electronics technicians continues to increase to meet the requirements of the information age the already successful company expects to benefit.

"There aren't nearly enough well-trained electronics technicians out there. And most training programs focus too much on the academics without providing enough hands-on training," said Kevin Gulliver, vice president of operations for Nida (the "i" is pronounced with a long "e" sound).

One of Nida's most recent successes is its "Revolution in Training" Apprentice Technical Training program with the U.S. Navy. The innovative computer-based electronics-training program saved the Navy more than $45 million in training 5,000 technicians over a 15-month period.

"The old chalk and blackboard method of training doesn't work with the MTV generation. They get bored," Gulliver said.

The new program combined Nida computer courseware and hands-on electronics trainers with freedoms such as allowing the students to listen with headsets to music while they worked and self-direct their study breaks. The students were also able to ask other students as well as instructors questions about the coursework.

"It's developing a totally new attitude about training in the military," Gulliver said. "I've been asked to travel and speak at various military conferences lately so other branches can here about these training innovations."

The Nida headquarters, which includes administrative, manufacturing and courseware development departments, is nestled in tree-and-pond-lined surroundings. The 30-acre corporate campus includes accommodations for guests and customers visiting the headquarters for training or recreation.

"After visiting our customers often say they are looking forward to coming back," Gulliver said.

Nida was created in Stamford, Conn. in 1972, by two out-of-work defense industry engineers, Drew Gudelis and David Vetrane. The company was named for the Lithuanian town of Nida, Gudelis' hometown.

The small company set up in Vetrane's garage and began by providing AM radio-repair training equipment to the U.S. military. In the early 1980s Nida became one of the first electronics training companies to offer the Computer Assisted Instruction format. Then in the mid-1990s it began offering remote training linking students and training centers.

The company relocated to Brevard County in 1985, and now employs about 50 workers locally and 80 sales representatives worldwide. Joe Beauseigneur came on board in 1995 to lead the company. Nida has expanded its product line over the years to include training systems for telecommunications, industrial maintenance, automotive, avionics, computer technology, and core electronics for military, industrial and educational institutions.

"There are many electronics training programs and schools across the country, but they don't offer the standards of training our systems do," Gulliver said. "If you can pass a test but you don't know what to do with the equipment, it's a problem for your employer."

Employers such as Northrup Grumman enlist Nida to provide systems to help assess and bring new hires up to speed.

While Nida doesn't train, it trains trainers, develops coursework and manufactures training hardware.

The trainers Nida manufactures are built to last. The 130E test console Nida manufactures, for example, has a service life of 32,000 hours between failures. The "workhorse" console, which allows for the use of various training configuration cards, was first manufactured more than 20 years ago.

Nida recently received an important certification. Nida qualified as an Electronics Technician Association-International Approved Training Facility for Basic Electronics, Industrial Electronics and Telecommunications. Nida courseware meets the ETA-I certifications for Student Electronics Technician, Associate Certified Electronics Technician, Certified Electronics Technician - Industrial and Certified Electronics Technician - Telecommunications.

"What is unique in this approval is the fact the Nida Corp. provides competency-based computer assisted instruction that is used in the traditional classroom, as part of a distributed learning program, or as a student-directed open entry/open exit program," Gulliver said. "Typically this certification is limited to traditional training programs. The ETA-I certification will allow naval technicians and all of our other customers worldwide to complete training with an internationally recognized certification."

Among its local efforts, Nida has helped Brevard Community College develop and implement the Aerospace Technology Program's basic electronics curriculum.

It also worked with BCC and the Florida Space Authority on the Science Challenge Apprenticeship Upskilling Program. Five program participants are now interning at Nida to develop a Video and Signal Processing Experiment for the Victoria (Austrailia) Space Science Education Center's "Mission to Mars" project. "Most of our clients are from outside of the area, but we do what we can to improve the skills of electronics technicians in our area," Gulliver said. "We'd like to be asked to do more."

For more information on Nida visit www.nida.com