• Encompassing real job challenges into our process by building scale mockups of upcoming projects’ conditions • Eliminating time-consuming setup and clean up • Addressing lack of usable space in a warehouse • Cost of training • Damage to training modules from week to week • Waste • Apprentice schedule flexibility and accommodating out of town commitments with make-up classes Building a better training process With these challenges in mind, we looked back at the 2016 Coverings Installation Design Showcase (IDS) container that we built our IDS vignette in, and contemplated how we could pair our hands-on training concept with a self-contained, mov- able area that would not plug up our warehouse every week. The concept was further validated by a Certified Tile Installer (CTI) pre-test activity, where our apprentice setters came in for many weeks and took the test two hours at a time and at their own pace. The excitement and buy-in was inspirational when they all had a mock up to work with. Our answer was right under our noses! We removed one wall of the 20-ft. shipping container and built various site conditions inside the container, starting with under- layment installation. We contin- NTCA UNIVERSITY UPDATE –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dan Welch and Dave Rogers worked together to develop a training container concept for house hands-on training mod- ules for apprentices that would not tie up warehouse space. The excitement and buy-in was inspi- rational when all the apprentices had a mock up to work with. Dave Rogers went a step further by add- ing proper lighting, and mock construc- tion defects in the build out such as miss- ing studs, multiple curb details, or out-of- level conditions 112 TileLetter | September 2017