A Partnership That Creates Tools for Life

You’re looking for ways to advance the technical training of your students. You want your school to stand out as a leader in education. Snap-on can help you expand the professional expertise of your students... and the expert reputation of your school.

Snap-on is committed to supporting and expanding technical education. Through partnerships with colleges and technical schools, students gain access to an industry-supported curriculum, accredited certification programs and hands-on training using the industry’s most trusted brand of tools. This combination of industry leadership and advanced technical training enhances the professional skills and improves the employment potential of participating technical students.


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Education
Snap-on Industrial Certification Program

Gateway Technical College: Building Industry Partnerships

Hear from Gateway Technical College, NC3’s founding institution, as they share how they intentionally build and sustain strong local industry partnerships—including their collaboration with Snap-on and other regional employers.
Discover how these relationships are formed through advisory engagement, equipment alignment, and workforce collaboration, and how NC3/Snap-on certifications are embedded into programs to ensure students graduate with industry-recognized credentials. Learn how these certifications deliver measurable value to employers while strengthening career pathways and community impact.

History of the Partnership

As NC3’s first and founding industry partner, Snap-on recognized early on the value of collaborating with college leaders and instructors across the country and understood the value NC3 could offer to both educational institutions and industry.

Value of the Partnership

NC3 offers invaluable experience and support through its network of college and high school instructors. From valuable insights in how we approach education, to helping us improve our outreach and support of educational institutions, NC3’s network supports Snap-on with our numerous technical education initiatives.

Value of Industry Certifications

Stackable certifications from globally recognized brands assist students once they’ve migrated to the workforce. Students who once started at the bottom have the opportunity to leap ahead with clear, provable skills, fundamental to critical industries.

Future of the Partnership

Snap-on sees no limits to where the NC3 partnership can lead. Whether international representation or becoming the standard for project based technical education, the sky is truly the limit.

Beyond the Classroom and Into the Workplace

The Snap-on Technical Education Program combines the benefits of STEM-oriented instruction with third-party skill certifications through NC3. Snap-on gives students the training, tools and skills they need to stand out at hiring time, and thrive in their new careers.

Students earn Snap-on certifications as proof of their achievement. These NC3 stackable credentials increase employment potential and on-the-job productivity in the automotive, energy, aviation, manufacturing and building trade industries.


CLICK HERE TO VIEW CERTIFICATION SAMPLES

2025 - 2026 Instructor Professional Development - Train-the-Trainer Opportunities

Click here to view the Train-the-Trainer schedule for NC3's industry-recognized credentials including Snap-on, Starrett, and Daniels Manufacturing Corporation certifications.

List of Certifications Offered

CTE Fundamentals
Transportation
Construction Science & Energy Efficiency
Manufacturing
Aviation
STEM
Horticulture
Health & Safety
* Certificate of knowledge included with select certification packages.

Skill Assessments & Validation





Cody-Eckert

Cody Eckert

NC3 Program Manager | Snap-on, Starrett, DMC

949.272.6766

Ask me how I can help build Snap-on, Starrett and DMC certifications into your industry programs.

Gateway Technical College:
Success Story

Northeast Community College

Horizon Center: The First Nationally Certified Snap-on Incorporated Diagnostic Training Center

Gateway Technical College, in partnership with Snap- on, invested in the Horizon Center for Transportation and Technology to serve high school, college students, and career professionals in automotive and diesel technician training. The Center has unique conferencing capabilities, a wireless and interactive technology infrastructure and an educational environment that is truly a model for the future. The design of the center, the quality of the equipment and the approach to training are being replicated by colleges throughout the world.

Click Here to Read About the Partnership

Snap-on/North Iowa Area Community College Partnership


Thanks to a partnership with Snap-on, NIACC can offer student credentials on select tool disciplines such as multi-meter, torque, precision measurement, and automotive diagnostic. This collaboration ensures students receive specialized training using the most up-to-date equipment and acquire the latest skills and knowledge that employers are looking for.



WSU Tech Aviation Maintenance Program

KTEC Kids: In Their Own Words

Program Highlights

  • The relationship between Gateway and Snap-on has helped build a new strategy for us at our college, as a way to improve not only the facilities and the programs that we offer, but most importantly the outcomes and experiences of our students. It’s a curriculum change, a faculty innovation model, and most important, it’s a way to help students connect to the real world. Students graduate with unique skill sets. I hear from the industry that students need to perform at high skill levels. We’ve worked with Snap-on to develop a certification program that has gained national recognition.
    Bryan Albrecht
    President, Gateway Technical College
  • We were looking for a nationally known partner to raise the bar of our educational offerings, and our students were buying subpar tools. We partnered with Snap-on because we wanted to give our students a ‘leg up’ in their education and career.
    Bryan Schiedler
    Project Manager, Linn-Benton Community College
  • I don’t think anyone can underestimate the importance of industry and education coming together to send out and put into the workforce a highly trained worker.
    Clark Coco
    Retired Dean of Washburn Institute of Technology
  • Thank you for teaching an excellent class.  I was concerned about the ability to learn this type of curriculum at a distance but was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly and how professional the course ran. You were over-prepared and kept the class moving at a good pace, but still allowed time for questions and interaction. Well done.
    Daniel Fuller, Professor & Chair Automotive Technology Department
    Gateway Community College
  • For the instructors, NC3's certifications are a turnkey package - they have a turnkey set of training aids that matches the curriculum but also we want to make sure that the learning environment matches that level of professionalism as well. So if you look at all our labs, Centers of Excellence, and Train-the-Trainer locations, you will see something very similar, reflecting what industry expects for new incoming employees.
    Earl Bailey
    National Education Partnerships Manager, Snap-on Industrial