FAQ Mandatory CEDIA Certification
FAQ Mandatory CEDIA Certification
What are the new membership requirements as from February 2009?
By January 31st 2009 all Pacific CEDIA Electronic Systems Professional (ESP) full member companies have to have at least EST2 (previously known as Installer Level 1) Certified member of staff. The individual(s) must be current holders of either CEDIA EST2, EST3 or Designer Level 1 Certification.
- What happens in February 2009 if I do not have a Certified member of staff?
If you do not meet the new membership requirements, you will be placed in the Provisional Membership category. Provisional members are not listed in any CEDIA publicity material; will have to relinquish CEDIA branding from any company materials and can no longer claim to be a CEDIA member until they have re-attained full member status by fulfilling the mandatory
Certification Requirement.
- Why have CEDIA decided to implement Mandatory Certification?
As part of CEDIA’s drive towards higher standards, both perceived by the public, other professionals and within our industry, CEDIA have decided to stay in-line with other construction professionals (e.g. plumbers; builders; electricians) by introducing recognised qualifications.
- How does Mandatory Certification help my company?
1. It provides a clear objective standard by which companies can evaluate their employees’ skills.
2. It provides a tangible level of success for employees to develop their professional expertise.
3. It adds credibility to prospective customers including consumers, architects, developers and interior designers by setting them apart from non-members.
4. Consumers find comfort in qualifications. This coupled with the other CEDIA membership criteria gives you a very strong sales tool.
- How does CEDIA intend to use the new membership rules in its marketing?
Public perception of qualified professionals is very strong. When people think
of gas fitters, they instantly recognise that all gas engineers must be registered. CEDIA will be putting a lot of effort and budget into increasing the FAQ Mandatory CEDIA Certification public and specifiers’ awareness that CEDIA ESP members are qualified. This will benefit your business by strengthening the public’s perception that CEDIA members offer a higher level of professionalism.
- How will this affect Pacific members?
Currently the new rules will only apply to Pacific ESP members. This will allow us to roll out Certification to the rest of Region 4 in the near future taking into consideration the many languages and local regulations.
- What happens if my only Certified employee leaves the company?
If your only Certified individual leaves your company, you have 6 months to find a CEDIA Certified replacement or to have another existing member of staff Certified. After this period if you are not employing a CEDIA Certified individual, your membership status will be moved to Provisional Membership category.
- Do my Certified staff need to do anything to retain their Certified status?
Once an individual is Certified, they have a requirement to obtain 30 Continuing Education Units (CEU) over a 3 year period following passing the exam. All CEDIA courses and an increasing number of Trade Supplier courses are eligible for CEU points.
