Certification matters – and the Construction Certifications Coalition (C3) can list quite a few reasons why. The group represents top certifications in building industries and it represents 21 organizations, encouraging professional development through certification. C3, which strives to promote best management practices, meets regularly to hash out ideas to promote and improve certification programs.
Why certify? The coalition’s document “Certification Matters” defines the value of continuing education and certification to better individuals’ careers.
Value of Certification for the Employee:
- Provides a recognized certification of skills and knowledge resulting in increased professional statue.
- Provides a marketable credential to an employer, prospective employer or client
- Provides increased opportunities for job advancement
- Allows quicker entry into new job assignments or responsibilities
Value of Certification for the Employer:
- Independent assessment of employee’s knowledge and skills based on a high national standard
- Identification of training needs and measurement of training comprehension
- Recognized credentialing of a pool of qualified company professionals in focused career tracks that improves marketability
Value of Certification to the Industry:
- Linkage between the standards of the profession and individual practice
- Assurance of competency upon which quality assurance and quality control programs depend
- Commitment to the maintenance and improvement of individual and company/agency professional capabilities and ethical standards
- Respect and recognition of individuals and firms that demonstrate high levels of knowledge and experience
Value of Certification to the Public:
- Promotes the health, safety and welfare of the public by encouraging and increasing professionalism in the built environment
- Increases consumer confidence in the products and facilities provided by the construction industry through use of skilled practitioners
- Provides the public with an increased level of confidence through the use of experienced and tested practitioners
- Provides the public with a clear identification of individuals and companies that have established and maintain high industry standards
For more information on C3, contact Nancy Roylance of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industries – International (www.awci.org) at 703/538-1608.
The author is Managing Editor – Special Projects for Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at khampshire@lawnandlandscape.com.