NWFA becomes newest INSTALL partner, teams with Carpenters International Training Fund for wood flooring installation certification program for INSTALL professionals
1/10/2008
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The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) and flooring installation curriculum experts of the Carpenters International Training Fund (CITF) are partnering to present a joint certification for wood flooring installation.
The International Standards and Training Alliance (INSTALL) is based on a curriculum by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) and work done by the CITF, and endorsed by 50 major mills and manufacturers in the flooring industry. NWFA – the newest endorser of the INSTALL alliance – and CITF officials are partnering in a program that allows UBC instructors to gain the authority to test INSTALL flooring professionals, and then award successful candidates, a UBC/NWFA Wood Flooring Installation Certification.
The program centers on a minimum of 48 hours of hands-on and classroom “Train the Trainer” instruction at the Carpenters’ International Training Center in Las Vegas, based on NWFA standards and manuals. Participants then must pass a 118-question test based on that week’s projects and topics. If successful, these participants are then authorized, and certified, to return to their local training center and deliver that 48-hour instruction, and then test floor installers on wood flooring installation, on behalf of the NWFA and UBC.
“For more than two decades, the NWFA has been the industry leader for training wood flooring professionals in the proper installation, sanding, and finishing of wood flooring products,” says Ed Korczak, Executive Director/CEO of the NWFA. By partnering with UBC to promote the INSTALL program, we hope to bring this training and expertise to an even larger contractor audience. In this way, we can promote and advance minimum industry standards for quality wood flooring jobs, which benefits our entire industry.”
The UBC/NWFA Certification follows the established NWFA Certified Professional Program. To be eligible for the certification, a floor installer must have at least two years of wood flooring experience, or related carpentry work.
“The NWFA benefits from the partnership by getting its certification training into the INSTALL alliance. INSTALL contractors benefit from the plan through a workforce trained not only by the UBC, but also by the NWFA. And, costs of the program are lessened because the CITF subsidizes fees associated with the certification,” said John McGrath, director of the INSTALL program. “There is tremendous benefit in not recreating the wheel, but rather partnering with the experts, the NWFA, to expose our INSTALL contractors and flooring professionals to such a comprehensive program. This is clearly a win-win for all involved, especially the customer, who will get excellent work by a contractor using UBC/NWFA certified wood flooring professionals.”