NTCA UNIVERSITY UPDATE ––––––––––––– By Becky Serbin, Training and Education Coordinator Empowering your technical and business knowledge through NTCA University Last month I identified some of the top items that our workshop trainers learned on the road in 2018 and how those subjects were also available on NTCA University for additional education. While every- one from the workshop team had a few different consistent themes, they offered so much feedback that I wanted to keep going on the subject. One of the trainers responded with this quote: “I hear a lot of blame being pointed at the GC or architect or design specialist. While this is abso- lutely the case, contractors don’t realize they can and should put the brakes on. When they see a problem, they should not continue full speed ahead. They should stop, make an analysis and communicate the situation to their supervisor, foreman, GC, architect, engineer, owner’s rep, owner, etc. They need to EMPOWER themselves with knowledge (of the standards, meth- ods, best practices, manufacturer instructions) and build confidence to hit the brakes, and require fund- ing for time and materials to protect the install and their reputation.” The courses on NTCA University fit right into the empowerment men- tioned by the workshop trainer. The tile installation courses cover the entire installation process includ- ing surface prep requirements, troweling and grouting techniques, working with membranes, sealants, and cleaning the tile work. And all of these courses reference industry standards, TCNA Handbook meth- ods, best practices and when to consult manufacturer instructions. Technical AND business courses offered at NTCA University Let’s say that you are very knowl- edgeable on the installation pro- cess, but you are a tile contractor first and business owner second. There are business courses such as accounting, marketing, managing others, customer service, or nego- tiating to help you properly run your business. And we have been developing estimating courses to help you properly bid projects and 90 TileLetter | February 2019