With the swimming season drawing to a close, many pool and spa builders are beginning to think about how to enhance their professional profile during the cooler months. One way to do this is to seek professional certification from the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP). During the annual International Pool/Spa/Patio Expo being held November 2-7 in Orlando, the APSP will be offering several certification courses in designing, building, and servicing spas and pools.
According to APSP CEO and President Rich Gottwald, “the economy is heating up and this is the time for pool and hot tub professionals to differentiate themselves with APSP training and certification.” The Expo is the perfect place to find this career-building credential. “With the largest group of pool, hot tub, spa and patio industry suppliers and manufacturers, retailers, builders, service professionals and landscape architects from around the globe in attendance at Expo,” Gottwald says, “we’re pleased to offer diverse training that meets the attendees’ expectations and needs.”
From November 2-4, the ASPA will offer the Pool & Spa Construction Course. This course offers technical expertise that will help novices learn more about building quality pools and spas, and show veteran pool builders how to build more complex pools. During the 3-day course, novice participants will work through the APSP Builders Manual and prep participants for the APSP Certified Building Professional exam held Nov. 5.
Also held from November 2-4 is the Certified Service Technician Course. Geared towards professionals with at least two years of experience, this course will cover the key concepts and best practices found in the APSP Service Tech Manual, specifically hydraulics, water quality, troubleshooting, and repair. The course will prep attendees for the Certified Service Technician (CST) exam on Nov. 5.
The two-day Certified Hot Tub Technician Course taking place from Nov. 3-4 will focus on the unique challenges faced by technicians who specialize in repairing hot tubs and spas. The APSP Hot Tub Technician Manual provides the backbone of the course, which will focus on hot tub installation, structures, finishes, service, maintenance, water chemistry, seasonal care and troubleshooting. Participants will also be prepped for the Certified Hot Tub Technician (CHTT) exam on Nov. 5
Debuting at this year’s festival is the one-day Train the Trainer Course on Nov. 3. This course trains subject matter experts to teach APSP certification courses in the workplace and convention venues. Completion of this course enables participants to earn an honorarium for their instruction hours. In order to participate in this course, the attendee must have already received a Certified Building Professional or Certified Service Professional designation.
The Pool & Spa Construction and the Certified Service Technician courses confer 24 continuing education credit hours towards attendee’s re-certification requirement. The Certified Hot Tub Technician Course provides 16 continuing education hours, and the Train the Trainer course offers 6. All courses are taught by veteran spa and pool professionals who are members in good standing of the APSP. For more information, contact the APSP’ Career Institute at ci@APSP.org