It's not news that the custom electronics industry is dying for more highly skilled installers. Well, the Electronic Systems Professional Alliance (ESPA) is trying to do its part to help.
The cooperative alliance among CEDIA, CTA and NSCA has finished its first year with a new full-time executive director, (former CEDIA honcho Jeff Gardner) and has labeled it “a very successful year indeed” citing more awareness, more schools, more exams, more training resources, and plans for even more in 2017.
Among the achievements in 2016 are:
- Exam numbers were up by 35 percent from 2015.
- Book sales were up 130 percent from 2015.
- The new ESPA Training Guide and Exam Prep book was launched, suitable for both self-study and classroom use.
- New PowerPoint presentations were created for use by Authorized Training Partners.
- ESPA / Lincoln Tech collaborative participation in six Recruit Military job fairs. The Lincoln Tech EST program in Union, N.J. remains the leading training partner; running both day and night classes, administering nearly 150 exams, and recently testing 34 and passing 33 of them, a nearly 100 percent pass rate.
The Alliance also touted some of the new schools using the curriculum, including Maverick Technical Institute in Nashua, N.H.; Orange Technical College, Orlando; Kern High School, Bakersfield, Calif.; Roosevelt school for the disabled, Warm Springs, Ga.; AV Tech, Detroit Mich.; Central Nine Career Center, Indianapolis.
For 2017, the alliance plans to:
- Create and launch of an online, self-paced Ecourse which follows the content in the Training Guide and assists in both self-study and formal training.
- Update of the certification exam item bank, to ensure that it is aligned with all current codes, standards, and best practices.
- Collaborate with training companies who specialize in fast-track sessions, making instructor-led sessions more available in more markets.
- Work with NSCA’s Education Foundation to provide training/certification packages to veterans who are approved for the Michael Hester Scholarship.
- Participate in the creation of a white paper for CABA (Continental Automated Building Association) on the state of the workforce, the need for more qualified people, and how this training and education can better be implemented.
