ESSENTIAL CEDIA

CERTIFICATIONS MATTER

Andy Baker of Bakerstone Systems explains the value of getting CEDIA Certified.

Gaining certifications is really important. Firstly, it shows a person’s commitment to developing themselves and their career. That brings a sense of real job satisfaction and worth to any individual. It’s one thing to list a skill on your CV, but it’s quite another to have an industryrecognised certification as an accepted benchmark for that skill with all that that means.

A certification builds credibility and trust and can be an important differentiator that you can present to potential customers or employers as proof of your reliability and expertise in a crowded marketplace.

As an employer, it’s important that you know the people you’re employing have a baseline knowledge and set of skills that have been independently verified.

‘Hire a certified technician’ is a simple message that any employer or, for that matter, any homeowner can easily understand.

Recognised credentials also mean there is visibility to, and greater parity with, other design and trade professionals who can now tell they are working alongside someone who takes their work seriously and professionally. This is an important benchmark for our industry as a whole, as we position our knowledge and expertise alongside more established professions.

This is why gaining ISO accreditation for CEDIA’s new Cabling & Infrastructure Technician (CIT) certification is such a big deal. It has the potential to drive a massive change in how our industry is not only recognised but valued.

The CIT certification represents a technician whose primary task is to perform basic infrastructure wiring for low-voltage technology systems in a residential or commercial setting. Certified technicians are able to use proper tools and techniques, follow instructions according to project documentation, and operate in a safe and professional manner on a site. It means that they understand the basic function of wiring and termination components being installed and are aware of common equipment and systems applications which they may assist with mounting and installing during later phases of a project.

While these individuals typically work under supervision, the CIT certification indicates to employers that they are job site ready, can work billable hours performing cabling and installation support, and have foundational knowledge to support additional training on equipment and technology systems.

The CIT certification is just the first developed by CEDIA to receive ANSI/ ISO accreditation: the foundations have been laid for more certifications to go through this process in the future, and the work has already begun.

I’ve been privileged to be a part of the CEDIA Certification Commission for the past two years and I’m looking forward to continuing my work with colleagues and volunteers from across the world as we develop these new certifications for our industry in the future.

Yes, it’s true that CEDIA already had certifications available. But these weren’t internationally recognised or ‘benchmarked’ against accepted criteria which limited their usefulness when talking to other design or trade professionals, local authorities and even governments.

Also, unlike previous CEDIA certifications, the CIT certification is the first to be available globally for anyone who wishes to get educated and tested to work in our industry, whichever background they come from, whether that’s IT, electrical contracting or elsewhere.

To date, we can report that 87 candidates from the CEDIA EMEA region have taken the examination with 58 of those being successful in gaining their CIT Certification.

We are excited about this programme, and expect many more integrators to achieve CIT certification, and other certifications in the future. You can learn more about what CIT Certification is all about, the requirements, and the hybrid learning pathways that support it at cedia.net/certification.

Bakerstone bakerstone.com