readily available to tile installers throughout North America at an affordable cost without any travel expenses or loss of income, we are helping our industry grow, while avoiding tile problems. Tile install- ers who take the ITS Verification online self-paced course and pass it with a score of 80% or better will receive a Certificate of Completion indicating that they learned the industry standards and demonstrat- ed that they understood what they learned. Having completed the ITS Verification course – or using the ITS designation next to their name – doesn’t guarantee that the tile installer has the skill set to do good work or will do good work, but it does verify they know the stan- dards, and knowing the standards is the first stepping stone to avoid- ing tile installation problems. The ITS Verification certificate expires after two years and the updated ITS Verification course must be taken every other year to remain ITS Verified and current. This is a great continuing education opportunity for tile installers, so they can easily keep up with the changes in our standards and products. Online training works in tandem with hands-on instruction Online training is not intend- ed to replace hands-on training or classroom training, but rather supplements live instruction and makes training more accessible and affordable, so a larger num- ber of installers can be trained in a relatively short period of time. Online training of this type, utiliz- ing the technology of a Learning Management System (LMS), is not only a very effective approach to training, but it is very practical. The students have 24/7 access and can take interactive courses at their convenience, at their own pace, as long as they have a computer and an internet connection. There are no travel expenses or lost produc- tivity incurred by the student or the trainer. There are management reports available to employers, so they can monitor the progress and results of their tile installers. UofCTS, founded in 2002, utiliz- es the latest Learning Management System (LMS) technology to deliv- er online training, which is the same as that used by higher edu- cation institutions. The UofCTS self -paced courses are interactive and loaded with pictures, video clips, animations and are professionally narrated. Some courses are taught in both English and Spanish to accommodate the large Hispanic workforce in the tile industry. UofCTS courses are based on BUSINESS TIP ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 3 32 TileLetter | September 2018