Commercial Integrator March 2021 - 22

CAREER DEVELOPMENT
THE AV INTEGRATOR'S
GUIDE TO CERTIFICATION
AND TRAINING
Whether you're new to the integration industry,
a veteran looking to gain additional knowledge,
or an owner that wishes to train staff,
understanding which certifications and training
to receive is important.
By Alan C. Brawn CTS, ISF-C, DSCE,
DSDE, DCME, DSSP
THE SHEER NUMBER and magnitude
of variables that we have encountered
and needed to embrace over the last two
decades have resulted in an AV industry
that has challenges we never dreamed of
in those early days of the industry. Meeting
these challenges requires new levels of
training across the board.
When referring to differing levels of
training, we can distill this down into three
basic categories:
› The first category involves those who
are new to the industry and have few, if
any, points of reference.
› The second category refers to those
who already have basic knowledge,
but desire greater expertise.
› The third category is for those who
have gained a high level of expertise
but want to stay at the leading edge or
become thought leaders.
Each category necessitates a different
level of training. Our focus will be on the
first category since this is the foundation
leading to the succeeding two levels.
As we begin discussing the educational
journey into commercial AV a caveat is
necessary. To attempt to participate in this
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Commercial Integrator MARCH 2021
complex industry without a fundamental
understanding of audio, video, remote control,
etc. is (to be blunt, but honest) a fool's
errand. More than ever before it is now a
pre-requisite to understand the underlying
technologies and design principles of
commercial AV and digital signage if being
an effective and successful participant is
your goal.
It is not sufficient to simply know how
a standalone piece of an AV or digital
signage system works. In our digital age,
with the Internet of Things (IoT) and Unified
Communications and Collaboration (UCC)
we must consider how one element of
a system affects or interacts with all the
others. It is rare to find truly standalone
technology today in any commercial AV or
digital signage system.
Mapping Out the Approach
With our stated focus being on those new
to the industry, in real terms there can be
two approaches.
One approach is on the job training.
This refers to a person gaining knowledge
while doing their job, learning along the
way through trial and error and coworker
guidance. You try something and it works,
so that becomes your practice, or you
try something and it does not work, so
you keep trying different things until one
finally does.
There will always be on the job training
to a certain extent within commercial AV,
but the second approach we need to discuss
will add a proven path and methodology
to the attainment of expertise, however
in a more concentrated, consistent, and
focused approach.
I refer to this as an educational development
plan.
It should all begin with the employee.
Extensive research shows that the most
effective and profitable path for a company
is via motivated and confident employees,
and those employees creating a positive
experience for the customer that provides
good reasons for them to remember you.
Employees are the face of our companies
and become our differentiation. To maximize
what they can do requires the proper
tools to do the job right. Central to this
theme is to create an educational development
plan and this begins by understanding
and embracing industry certifications.
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Commercial Integrator March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Integrator March 2021

Commercial Integrator March 2021 - Cover1
Commercial Integrator March 2021 - Cover2
Commercial Integrator March 2021 - 1
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