Edcetera expands its footprint in engineering education with the acquisition of exam prep solution PrepFE

Today, Edcetera announced the acquisition of PrepFE, an exam prep platform that helps engineers pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam to become Engineers-in-Training (EIT), which is a required step for aspiring Professional Engineers (PE). The acquisition continues the company’s rapid expansion into the engineering education, training, and licensure market following its acquisition of continuing education provider SunCam earlier this year.

“With the global demand for engineers higher than ever, professional licensure can offer a pathway to greater earning power, growth potential, and autonomy for those just starting a career path in engineering,” said Nader Qaimari, chief executive officer of Edcetera. “Built by engineers for engineers, PrepFE delivers a comprehensive, intuitive, and–most importantly–effective exam prep experience for engineers as they take their first critical step toward the PE license.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 1.6 million engineers in the workforce—a number expected to grow 7% over the next 10 years, with an even faster rate of growth in fields such as civil and mechanical engineering where licensure is often required to sign and seal engineering plans that are submitted to public sector agencies or clients.

Since its founding by a team of engineers in 2017, PrepFE has emerged as one of the most popular providers of exam prep courses for the FE exam. The company’s research-driven exam prep system provides students with comprehensive sample test questions along with tips and detailed explanations to help them improve their score. PrepFE courses currently help aspiring EITs pass exams for civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, chemical engineering, and other disciplines.

“We focused on creating an exam prep experience that harnesses the power of active learning to help engineers practice, refine their problem-solving skills, and build their confidence as they prepare,” said Damien Sutevski, founder of PrepFE. “We’ve been incredibly gratified to hear from so many early career engineers that we succeeded. We look forward to working with the Edcetera team to help even more engineers pass the FE exam and, in the near future, pass the PE exam as well.”

PrepFE is led by a team of subject matter experts—with experience at SpaceX, AECOM, Disney and Nantworks—who themselves hold masters and doctorates in their respective fields and have professional experience across mechanical, aerospace, civil, electrical engineering, and computer science disciplines.

The acquisition will enable PrepFE to fuel investments in product innovation and the creation of new educational offerings designed to meet the needs of engineers throughout their career. Edcetera now has educational offerings in engineering covering the entire professional lifecycle from career entry and exam prep to continuing education and professional development.

Best known for creating widely-used continuing education courses for licensed professionals and exam preparation in engineering, architecture, and the skilled trades, Edcetera has evolved to become an end-to-end provider of training and education in health care, skilled trades, and licensed professions. “With the PrepFE acquisition, Edcetera is deepening its commitment and offering to support engineering professionals throughout their career,” explained Dina Said, managing partner at Eden Capital.