As the SPFA Professional Certification Program (PCP) continued toward completion in Q4 2012 and Q1 2013, it offered two pilot programs intended to put the program through its paces. Following over a year of intense work by PCP committee members, the time came to test-drive the exam prep materials and the tests themselves. Just like any product or service, eventually all the work and development has to be put to the test to see if it does what it was intended to do.

The pilot sessions, held in Wisconsin at Gaco Western and Atlanta at Premium Spray Systems, were an opportunity to see if the exam preparatory materials adequately prepared individuals for the exams, if the time to review the materials fit inside the expected periods, and how people performed on the tests themselves. Attendees were encouraged to provide feedback on all materials to improve them where possible. Additionally the pilot session at Premium was the first round of actual Field Examinations for SPF professionals. These efforts were important as a near-final step in the validation process. Over 100 people attended the exam prep classes, and over 375 written exams were taken by attendees. Those exams were taken both by people attending the preparatory classes, as well as walk-ins who, while pre-registered, utilized the test-out option and sat for the written exams after self-studying (an option built into the program to accommodate experienced professionals).

These pilot sessions were an enormous amount of work to prepare for, and the Professional Certification Program committee members managed to get everything done in time and deliver a valuable experience. The result of these pilot sessions are a program that is set to be rolled out formally at the SPFA 2013 Annual Convention and Expo in Jacksonville, Fla., Feb. 12-13, 2013. 

The program has many elements, such as Contractor, Distributor and Manufacturer Firm Accreditation to tackle during 2013, along with deploying the individual certification program nationwide. But if you are an insulation or roofing contractor, or someone qualified as a Field Examiner, you are set to take advantage of this program at the convention and begin to differentiate your company through demonstration of your professional knowledge, skills and abilities. Congratulations to those who are among the first in the nation.