TRAINING & EDUCATION ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– will include a traditional Workshop that will be open and free to all interested industry professionals. This will be followed by a free regional training event available to NTCA members and their employ- ees, and will close with a free open round table discussion for NTCA members to allow sharing of ideas, challenges, business tips, problem solving tips and more. Did I mention all these offerings are free? (NTCA Regional Training programs require a nominal fee to hold the space, which is refunded upon attendance). Offering educa- tion without charge is one more way NTCA is making training and professional excellence available to the industry at large, and to its members. Here is a little more informa- tion on the content you can expect from The NTCA Training Experience in 2019. Regional Training GPTP Training pro- grams will be based on ANSI A108.19. Programs will be held at Crossville and Daltile locations and will focus on all aspects of stan- dards-based installation and best practices for installing gauged porce- lain tile panels (GPTP) on floors and walls in interior applications. These programs will be supported by material and sys- tem experts from the GPTP, setting material and specialty tool manu- facturers. The training day begins promptly at 8 am with a 90-minute classroom session followed by six hours of hands on training. This training meets the requirements of ANSI A108.19. Participating attendees will receive a certificate of course completion. Substrate Prep/Large-Format Tile programs are based on instal- lation standards, methods and best practices from ANSI A108, TCNA Handbook and the NTCA Reference Manual. Proper sub- strate installation, analysis and preparation is absolutely critical to every tile installation. This program focuses on a variety of substrate preparation techniques for floors and walls to meet the industry stan- dard requirements for large-format tiles (LFT). After substrates have been properly prepared, attendees will focus on proper selection and 72 TileLetter | February 2019