About IoPP Certification

Since 1972, IoPP has awarded qualified applicants the designation “Certified Packaging Professional (CPP).”  To date, over 1,500 packaging professionals have attained CPP status.

The most recent IoPP salary survey revealed that CPP’s earn between 7% and 10% more than their non-certified co-workers! 
 

Recognition

Qualifying is a private matter, yet among the benefits of having qualified is the public recognition that comes with the achievement.

Those who do qualify are known as Certified Packaging Professionals.

Candidates achieve the Certified Packaging Professional (CPP) designation by demonstrating significant industry expertise and experience, measured through a flexible applicant testing process.

The Institute recognizes successful candidates in its newsletter and on the  IoPP website. The industry recognizes the CPP designation as a commitment to excellence in the packaging profession.

Those earning the CPP designation are permitted and encouraged to use the suffix “CPP” with their name on business cards and letterhead, to wear the IoPP/CPP lapel pin and to display the CPP Certificate, which is suitable for framing.

At the candidate’s request, IoPP will directly inform company management of the candidate’s successful effort.

Qualifications

Only current IoPP members may apply for accreditation and recognition as a Certified Packaging Professional.  Join or renew using the links above.

Currently, a candidate is qualified to begin the process if he/she has six years experience in packaging or a closely related technical discipline. 

The six year requirement can be made up in the following ways:

• Six years actual work experience, or;
• Four year college degree from a packaging school plus two years work experience, or;
• Four year college degree from a packaging school, plus one year for Masters Degree, plus one year actual work experience.

Completion of all four semesters of the Fundamentals of Packaging Technology series constitutes one year of experience.

Others who pass the requirements as set forth, but who have not yet obtained the six years of experience, can earn the Certified Professionals in Training (CPIT) designation. See additional information about CPIT later on this page.

Performance Options

Candidates demonstrate their command of a broad knowledge of applied packaging technology by successfully completing ANY TWO of the following options: 

1. Multiple-Choice Exam: Candidates may opt for IoPP’s multiple-choice test or other approved test. IoPP’s test is comprised of 150 questions on packaging machinery, materials and technology. This is an “open book” test. An 80% correct score is considered passing.

2. Narrative Exam: Alternatively, candidates may choose to answer three narrative, “essay-type” questions from a list of 10 such questions formulated by other Certified Packaging Professionals. The narrative questions are general in nature in order to permit and encourage appropriate responses drawn from each candidate’s own background, whether that is in consumer or industrial packaging, in engineering or design, in technical disciplines or management. Reference to various texts is encouraged. The answers are evaluated by a committee on a “pass/fail” basis. If a candidate chooses the Multiple Choice Test and the Narrative Exam, each option must be completed at separate time intervals (these options are sent the beginning of each month and cannot be combined in the same month).

3. Resume of Activities: Candidates may complete a detailed resume form (supplied by IoPP) to document their past six (6) years of experience and active participation in packaging and/or related disciplines with a work resume attached. A Resume Review Committee awards points for continuous employment; participation in IoPP or related technical societies’ affairs; presentations at conferences,

seminars and meetings; publishing authored papers on appropriate technical and management topics; attending educational courses and industry exhibitions; teaching or lecturing; securing patents, and more.

4. Writing a Paper: A candidate may write a new paper or submit an unpublished paper written within the past two years on a technical or management topic of his or her choice. The paper will be graded anonymously, “pass/fail,” by three qualified peers. Submitted papers become the property of IoPP, and are published on the IoPP website.

Work submitted must be solely that of the candidate. No co-authored work is accepted.

Professional paper guidelines are available. Candidates are encouraged to use published references in answering test questions and in writing papers.

5. Patents: The candidate may submit proof of a patent granted no more than five (5) years prior to their certification or recertification application. 

Co-inventor patents cannot be submitted as one of the two requirements.  If both the Resume of Activities and Patent options are chosen, the submitted patent cannot also be included in the Resume of Activity point total.  Co-inventor patents may be included on the Resume of Activities, with 1/2 the allowed point credit issued.

The CPP candidate must satisfactorily complete two options, in the order they desire, within twelve months from the date of application.  Any questions about these requirements should be directed to IoPP prior to applying for certification.

Recommended Texts

IoPP’s multiple-choice test is based on Fundamentals of Packaging Technology, by Walter Soroka, CPP, published by the IoPP.

“Fundamentals” is intended to be a teaching tool. IoPP uses it as the standard reference for certification because of its liberal use of illustrations, simple and detailed explanations, and exercise questions at the conclusion of each chapter.

Special note: IoPP reserves the right to approve tests offered by other organizations or educational institutions which may then be used for the test portion of the qualification procedure. There is no guarantee that such tests will also use the Soroka text as the basis for questions and answers. In any case, IoPP will use the “Fundamentals” text as the “reference of appeal” on any disputed answers.

For more information on this and other texts, click here to visit the IoPP Packaging Bookstore, or phone the IoPP Book Store at 1-800-432-4085.

Where and When?

Regardless of which two qualifying options are selected, the work can be done in the candidate’s home or office.

The multiple-choice or narrative test will be sent via three-day courier on the first Monday of the month of the candidate’s choice. If the first Monday is a holiday, exams will be mailed out on the second Monday of that month. IoPP allows the candidate through the weekend to write the exam. All materials must be postmarked for return to IoPP the following Monday. For example, exam materials sent out Monday, May 1, must be postmarked for return to IoPP by Monday, May 8.

If submitting a resume as one portion of the qualification procedure, candidates may submit that resume either with their completed test or at any later time within a year of the date of their original application. In all cases, IoPP assumes the work to be that of the candidate and of the candidate alone.

Recertification

To retain CPP status, and attain lifetime certification, Certified Packaging Professionals are required to maintain IoPP membership and demonstrate continuing involvement in packaging by recertifying twice.

The CPP must apply for recertification five years after initial certification, and a second time, five years after initial recertification by doing one of the following:

A) Submit a current “resume of activities” form with a work resume attached which updates experience and participation in packaging-related activities over the previous five-year period.

B) Pass one of the recertification tests then in effect.

C) Submit a new paper written on a technical or management topic.

D) Submit a solely owned patent.

Having satisfied the requirement of two recertification cycles, the Certified Packaging Professional is considered qualified for the remainder of his or her career, provided current IoPP membership is retained.

Certified in Training

For those packagers having fewer than six years of academic and/or work experience, an “in training” program is offered.

In this program, candidates begin by completing the Multiple Choice Test option, then complete the second certification requirement upon concluding their sixth year in packaging.

Candidates submit registration with a partial fee to begin the process. Balance of the total fee is due upon submission of the second part of the procedure.

The Cost

The registration fee covers the cost of processing submitted materials and recognition items.

Recertification, as noted above, is required twice. There is an additional charge for each of the two recertification processes.

Candidates who do not successfully complete one of the two performance option requirements are permitted to try again for a fee.

Current Certification Program fees are:

Certification Fee-$125

Recertification Fee-$125

In-training Fee, Phase 1 (CPIT)-$75

In-training Fee, Phase 2-$50

Retesting (Exam)-$40

Retesting (Resume)-$30

Fundamentals of Packaging Technology Book-$172

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Fundamentals of Packaging Technology

This 600-page book from IoPP is a comprehensive packaging reference text. Complete with end-of-chapter self-test questions, Fundamentals of Packaging Technology is a heavily illustrated, introductory textbook on a wide and comprehensive range of packaging technology issues. Every one of the book’s 20 chapters is reviewed and regularly updated by experts. Every term used in the book is defined in a 32-page glossary...an important and valuable reference source all by itself.

About the Author

Walter Soroka drew on nearly 30 years of experience in the packaging field and 15 years of experience teaching the seminar on which the book is based. Soroka uses a clear, smooth, informative writing style to present this comprehensive introduction.