Commercial Integrator March 2021 - 25

CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Helping Employees Grow
The best launchpad for professional
advancement is for companies to embrace
formally recognized certifications for
employees to earn. Professional certifications
put all the elements of an industry
plus the collective company and employee
experience in context, rather than residing
internally as a disparate group of facts and
knowledge.
Certifications are proof positive to those
outside of a company that they and their
employees are committed to the profession,
and that they actively seek the latest
information available to make their efforts
the best they can be. Research has shown
that certifications make companies more
valuable to end users and employees more
valuable to employers. All else being equal
the nod usually goes to the company who
appears to have a greater dedication to
excellence and whose people are increasingly
certified.
Let us assume that you have an educational
development plan, and as noted
previously it should start with most employees
earning a certification or even multiple
certifications. The key word here is start.
Commercial AV and digital signage training
does not and should not stop there.
This is where manufacturer specific training
courses come into play. Think in terms
of granularity and additional information
on specific solutions from which to make
project design and integration decisions.
For example, you may understand the
basic theories of audio but learning how
individual components work from various
manufacturers will provide different
perspectives and help address different
problems. Think features and benefits
unique to a given solution. Again, one size
does not fit all.
It is safe to say that no single manufacturer
has all the answers or all the products
you may need. This begs the question of
how to approach this gargantuan task.
We decided to use the CTS certification categories
as a guide for commercial AV and a
slightly different approach for suggestions
in digital signage.
For commercial AV we interviewed 10
of the top systems designers in the country
and asked them for their input on the industry
vendors that provided the most thorough
vendor neutral approach to training
in a given area (with a focus on integration
firms new to the industry).
The following are the categories and the
vendors (in alphabetical order) most noted
by our group of subject matter experts:
› Analog and
digital signals
a. Atlona
b. AVPro
c. Crestron
d. Extron
e. Kramer
› Audio and audio
technologies
and systems
a. Biamp
b. Clear One
c. Harman
d. QSC
e. Shure
In today's integration landscape its
important for any professional to have a
certain amount of knowledge not only in
the implementation of AV technology, but
in the understanding of the IT networks
this technology will touch and run on.
commercialintegrator.com
› Video and video
technologies
and systems
a. Barco
b. Da-Lite
c. Digital
Projection
d. Epson
e. Screen
Innovations
› Signal
management
a. Atlona
b. AVPro
c. Crestron
d. Extron
e. Kramer
› Control systems
a. AMX
b. Atlona
c. Crestron
d. Kramer
› Electrical systems
a. Digital
Projection
› Wireless radio
systems
a. Sennheiser
b. Shure
Turning our attention to digital signage,
our best advice is to begin by looking to
the Digital Signage Federation as a starting
point for vendor neutral educational development.
Their focus is education and outreach,
and they offer many micro-credential
courses that cover a full range of topics
directly related to digital signage. From this
launchpad of knowledge a newbie into the
art, craft, and science of digital signage can
look to the key elements that go into every
digital signage system.
The finite elements to be explored are:
› Displays
› Mounts and enclosures
› Media players
› Software
In a sense, this can open up Pandora's
Box as you search for digital signage vendors
in each area. Our advice is to focus on
the major providers in each category. Once
again you can look to the DSF for guidance
connecting you with their members who
have a proven track record you can rely on.
While several companies were highlighted
above, please understand that it does
not stop with these companies, by any
means. Increasingly we are seeing vendors
both small and large provide virtual training
programs live via webinars and/or on-demand
recordings on their websites. Some
even offer full certification programs for
their products.
Search to see what your current (or
potential) vendors might offer. Also, if you
go to the AVIXA website and search for CTS
RU courses, you will see a library listing of
training courses offered by vendors and
service providers. As noted before, you can
go to the DSF site and you will see myriad
micro-credentials that may be of interest,
as well as links to other member resources.
You may want a class with product focus, or
you may not. You be the judge according to
your educational development plan.
Live, Virtual, And Hybrid Events
Another resource for training is tradeshows
and distributor events. In the past these
were basically live events but with the
" new normal " we are seeing an evolution
and migration to virtual events and hybrid
events. What characterizes these is that
MARCH 2021 Commercial Integrator 25
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Commercial Integrator March 2021

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