Hardwood Floors April May 2018

RESOURCES

By Kjell Nymark

THE BENEFITS OF

NWFA CERTIFICATION In managing the NWFA Certi ed Professional program, I hear a lot of questions from students. Why should I earn an NWFA certi cation (or certi cations)? What is the value of an NWFA certi cation to my employer and to me? Why is the path to certi cation so challenging? An NWFA certi cation is a readily recognized benchmark mapped to a speci c skill set. A certi cation demonstrates your professional dedication, motivation, and technical knowledge. Once you earn an NWFA certi cation, you join a select group of individuals – a peer group with demonstrated skills. The NWFA offers the following certifications:

Certified Installer

Certified Sand & Finisher

Certified Sales Advisor

Certified Wood Flooring Inspector

A certi cation can help you gain market share with desirable clientele. ere are many contractors and homeowners who believe in the importance of having certi ed tradespeople working for them. ey understand the value of hiring well- trained workers and will pay more for a certi ed professional. Certi ed professionals are listed in the online NWFA certi ed professionals directory on the NWFA consumer website, wood oors.org, which makes it easier for prospective clients to nd them. ey are also listed at the top of the online search page based on their credentials and engagement in continuing education. e best part is that the consumer is able to click on your displayed badges and certi cations to read about the requirements necessary to earn them. Many manufacturers and architects recommend using NWFA certi ed professionals in their guidelines. Specifying certi ed professionals is gaining popularity because it is viewed as a way to minimize the number of claims that occur as only wood ooring professionals with proven competence are on the job. Certi ed Sales Advisor (CSA) is the latest certi cation that the NWFA has introduced. is certi cation helps to educate your sales or design sta to specify materials that will suit the customer’s needs, educate the customer on proper maintenance procedures, and set reasonable expectations of how the oor will perform post installation. is programwas developed to address a growing number of claims due to failures that occur at the point of sale. Specifying the appropriate materials and se ing reasonable expectations will drastically reduce the number of claims. To achieve a sales certi cation, you have to complete all of the sales courses on NWFAU, and maintain a sales certi cation by earning three CCUs per year.

104 hardwood floors www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com e bene t of earning one or both of these certi cations is that it separates you from your competitors. Earning a certi cation in your designated trade says a lot about you. It tells your customers that you consider your trade a career and not just another job. It says that you’re willing to invest in yourself to expand your knowledge and improve your skills to consistently produce be er work. All of the NWFACerti ed Professionals must sign the Code of Professional Conduct. is agreement ensures anyone holding an NWFACerti cation acknowledges and abides by the Code, and is held accountable to it through the complaint process. To become a Certi ed Installer (CI), youmust have a minimum of three years of experience as an installer, complete all of the installation courses featured on NWFA University (NWFAU), and complete the hands-on test, which is proctored by a certi ed member. Similarly, to become a Certi ed Sand and Finisher (CSF) you must have a minimum of three years of experience as a sand and nisher, complete all the Sand and Finish courses featured on NWFAU, and have successfully completed the hands-on test proctored by a certi ed member. To maintain these certi cations, it is mandatory for the mechanic to earn three continuing certi cation units (CCUs) per year. ese units can be acquired in several ways, such as a ending NWFA educational events, webinars, and featured courses on NWFAU. Obtaining CCUs ensures that the certi ed professional is kept up-to-date with the latest tools and techniques in this rapidly changing industry.