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The National Wood Flooring Association provided Wood Flooring Expo attendees with a peek under the hood of the recently announced NWFA University on April 28.
NWFAU is an online wood floor training platform that gives professionals the ability to learn flooring skills remotely and share their education credentials online through their website and social media channels. The platform will launch July 1, the start of a new year of NWFA membership.
"This changes our education, our certification, everything the NWFA has built up for years, and enables you, the user, to take advantage of our services remotely," Brett Miller told a packed hall of attendees during an Expo education session.
With the new school structure, students will progress through the online modules as a prerequisite for attending hands-on education at NWFA regional training facilities. NWFAU education modules effectively replace the classroom portion of NWFA schools.
NWFAU students will receive electronic badges as they complete the online skills modules. The badges, such as "Wood Moisture Testing" and "Nail Down," can be displayed on company websites and social media channels.
Companies with NWFAU badges will be listed higher in the consumer-facing search results on woodfloors.org than companies that do not have badges.
NWFAU will launch July 1 with the following education pathways: NWFA Certified Professional Installation, NWFACP Sales Advisor and NWFACP Sand & Finish. Skills courses on soft skills, such as job site estimation, and courses for architect and designer CEUs, are also available. An online NWFACP Inspector pathway is in development, as well. Each pathway is broken into individual skills modules that require an average of 10 minutes to complete.
Current NWFACP professionals will keep their certifications but will need to take the online courses to receive badges.
NWFA member Mike Urban, an inspector with Mike Urban Flooring Inspection in Mundelein, Ill., attended the NWFAU preview and said he was impressed with the platform.
"This brings the NWFA into the year 2016," Urban said.
The University initiative is also a way to interest the next generation of wood flooring professionals who grew up with and are familiar with technology solutions. Ben Reyer, a young contractor with Wood Floor Designs in Koppel, Pa., said the online platform is attractive.
"Everybody can learn at their own pace on the technical side, and then when you're ready you can pursue the hands-on phase," he said.