help expand regional train- ing and education, bilingual training, and the Five Star Contractor Program. See the 70th Anniversary section in September TileLetter or the staff section at www.tile-assn.com for a list of current NTCA staff members and roles. 4. NTCA member- ship will begin to approach 1,500 members in 2018. As of November 1st, over 1,400 members were in good standing. We hope to reach our goal of 1,500 mem- bers by the end of 2018. 5. NTCA Committees are active and engaged in developing programs and initiatives. These include, but are not limited to: Apprenticeship Development, Certification Development and Promotion, On-Line Education, Safety, Regional Training Initiatives, to name a few. 6. NTCA University is poised to make a significant educational impact in the industry. Currently, 60 com- panies have signed on for the program, and there are over 600 users who have already completed 2,400 courses on the system. We will greatly expand this outreach in 2018 as we continue to develop curriculum. 7. In the NTCA Apprenticeship Program, the two-year finisher program is complete and work on the on the tile setter program is underway. NTCA will offer the program and administration support to contractors interest- ed in developing apprentice- ship training or in working with other contractors and learning centers to develop a regional program. 8. The Regional Training Program was officially launched in New Berlin (Milwaukee), Wis., in October, with many more events being planned in 2018. The goal of the RegionalTraining Program NTCA YEAR-END REVIEW ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– U N I V E R S I T Y The Regional Training Program launched in October focused on hands-on training for mud-setting and large-format and thin porcelain tile. 96 TileLetter | December 2017