In case you missed it, the big NTCA University news at The International Surfaces Event (TISE West) in Las Vegas was that we have completed two of the five years of courses for a new hire that are required for a Department of Labor (DOL) apprentice program. And to catch you up on previous updates, we are developing five years of introductory courses for a new tile setter. If your company has a DOL-approved program, this means that the two-year finisher program is complete and we are starting to work on the three-year setter program. The second year of courses build on knowledge that was gained in the first year. And we included several introduc- tory management courses such as crew task management, introduction to com- munication, and controlling confronta- tions. These courses were included to support someone who has been on the job for two years to lead grout crews and assist new hires to learn the tasks at which they are proficient. Even though these courses are being developed with the installer in mind, they aren’t meant SOLELY for a new finisher or setter. While there is a slant to the installer’s perspective, anyone working in the tile industry can benefit from taking these courses. For example, if you are a sales rep, do you understand the entire installation process? Do you know how your product fits in with all of the other steps? Or do you understand issues that may occur with an improper installation? All of these questions can be answered by taking these courses. Remember that NTCA University now has key word search capabilities. Let’s say that you want to take a course related to epoxy grout. In the past you would have to scroll through all of the courses to look for that particular course; now you can search for epoxy and/or grout and find a list of courses that may meet your needs. To purchase your subscription, you can visit the NTCA store at https://tile- assn.site-ym.com/store/ListProducts. aspx?catid=490398 or http://bit. ly/2taYmOO to make your purchase. If you have any questions or have ideas of courses that we should have available then please give me a call at 770-366-2566 or send me an e-mail at becky@tile-assn.com. NTCA UNIVERSITY UPDATE ––––––––––––– By Becky Serbin, Training and Education coordinator NTCA completes year two of the DOL-approved five-year apprenticeship program 92 TileLetter | February 2018