With a mission to enhance the industry by providing first-class education, CEDIA has announced major advancements in its globally recognised CEDIA Certification programme.
The organisation has launched the new CEDIA Certified Cabling and Infrastructure Technician (CIT) and CEDIA Certified Integrated System Technician (IST) Certifications as part of its update. CEDIA plans to launch beta testing for the new CIT exam in August, while beta testing for the IST exam is slated for November.
Another major advancement is the development of comprehensive learning pathways to prepare individuals for certification and success on the job in a global fashion.
The final update sees the CEDIA Certification Commission advanced the certification process to apply for accreditation based on the ISO/IEC 17024 standard.
“This process has been incredibly stringent to ensure our certifications represent qualified technicians with the skills the industry needs,” said David Whitney, CEDIA’s director of Certification. On top of that, for the first time, CEDIA is seeking accreditation under the internationally recognised ISO/IEC 17024 standard for certification bodies.
“Following these requirements at every step of the exam development and administration process has been foundational for the programme and I’m indebted to the newly created CEDIA Certification Commission for their time and effort in this important work.”
The new CIT and IST Certifications are the results if many hours of research and collaboration between the CEDIA Certification Commission and the Technician Job Task Analysis (JTA) task force.
“This group reviewed entry-level and intermediate-level technician roles and worked from the ground up to create two technician certifications that are earned progressively and precisely measure essential knowledge and skills at each level,” added Whitney.
The entry-level CIT is for technicians whose primary task is to perform basic infrastructure wiring for low-voltage technology systems in a residential or commercial setting.
Similar to the current ESC-T certification, the IST is for experienced technicians with broad equipment and systems knowledge, who can operate independently on a job site. Candidates for the IST Certification must have at least one year of verified work experience and hold CIT certification to be eligible to sit for the IST exam.
Both CIT and IST names were chosen by the CEDIA Certification Commission after reviewing data from more than 1,000 online job description posts, 2019 CEDIA survey recommendations asking stakeholders what they prefer to be called, and the charge to establish names with long-term usability that are as representative as possible of the actual role and knowledge they encompass, regardless of where the integrator is located in the world.
Both certifications are renewable and require that holders adhere to a Code of Conduct. More information about the exam blueprints can be
found here.
Dennis Erskine, CEDIA Certification commission chairman said: “Today marks a whole new chapter for CEDIA Certification and building a whole system that more accurately recognises skilled individuals in our industry. Yes, we’re asking more of people who want to be certified, but that is a good thing.
“By adding rigor and the quality assurance and recognition that comes with official accreditation, our CEDIA Certification holders are going to come away at the end of this process with credentials that earn respect with the project stakeholders and demonstrate the professionalism of residential integrators.”
As the new CIT and IST Certifications are progressively launched globally, CEDIA plans to retire the existing ESPA EST (Electronic System Technician), CEDIA ESC (Electronic System Certified) and CEDIA ESC-T (Electronic Systems Certified Technician) certification.
A detailed transition plan has been laid out by the Certification Commission to explain how existing certification holders can earn new certifications. Those holding ESPA EST, CEDIA ESC, and CEDIA ESC-T Certifications will receive preferred pricing of $25 to take the new exams.
The ESC-N and ESC-D certifications are not affected by these changes, but will be updated next as the Certification Commission plans to expand the specialist certifications to allow advanced technicians to earn recognition in more focused areas.
A webinar providing additional details of the new certification programme and what it means for integrators will be held by CEDIA on 18 June at 4pm BST / 11am EDT.