First Live 2021 Tile-Installer Test Set for February

PENDLETON, S.C. – Looking to go hands-on for training in 2021? The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF) is setting a time and place for the year’s first in-person event: February in Florida.

The CTEF will hold its first Certified Tile Installer (CTI) hands-on testing event for the year at The Carpet & Tile Warehouse in Vero Beach, Fla., on Feb. 20.

The event is the first one to go live since this March, when CTEF has had to cancel all 2020 certification and training events.

“Scheduling this first CTI hands-on testing event is a testament to the importance of CTEF’s mission and the support of the entire tile industry,” says Scott Carothers, director of certification and training for CTEF. “The pandemic has reinforced the importance for the tile industry to have a pool of talented and certified installers available to handle the amount of new work on the horizon.”

“We are very grateful to Deby and Robert Winter of The Carpet & Tile Warehouse for supporting the CTI program especially during these unprecedented times,” Carothers adds.

The CTI program is open to installers with at least two years of experience as the lead installer setting ceramic and porcelain tile on a full-time basis. This includes full responsibility for substrate prep, layout and coordinating the tile installation with other trades, along with properly installing underlayment, tile, grout and sealant.

The program consists of two parts: an open-book test written test taken at the installer’s business or home address, and an in-person, hands-on skills test given at various locations throughout the United States.

“The CTI program is strictly a test of the installer’s skills and knowledge; it is a self-study course which offers no instructional classes,” says Carothers. “However, many installers who have completed the CTI tests say that studying the written materials was very valuable and assisted in the completion of the hands-on test and that the CTI Manual provided the correct methods for tile installation which may not have been the way they installed tile in the past.”

The 2021 events will be held under a COVID-19 policy in effect during installer orientation, set up, and hands-on testing, and will coincide with the location’s state and local guidelines. Per CDC guidelines, the following procedures will be in place:

• Face masks will always be worn by the evaluator, installers, and hosts.
  • Social distancing will be in place during orientation, set up, and during the operation of the test.
  • No-touch temperature readings will be administered at the beginning of each day.
  • PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) must always be in place.
  • Tools and equipment may not be shared.

More certification events are planned  for 2021. For more information, go to https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/events.

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