FAQ: What Are IICRC CE Credits and How Do I Get Them?

Perhaps as a business owner, you might be thinking that you delved into the the budget to provide more than adequate training for your technicians. You don’t see the need to spend more money on the same thing again even if it has been several years.

As a technician, you’ve likely spent countless hours in the classroom learning what needs to be done, how to do it properly and have been applying it successfully in the field for some time. Because of that experience, the thought of having to once again dedicate time to that venture may not seem necessary nor appealing.

Imagine for a few moments that you buy a vehicle.  Everything functions just fine when you initially get it. But what typically happens if you don’t change the oil on a regular basis or replace the tires, headlights and windshield wipers or get a tune-up?  The car will fail to provide an optimum level of performance. Also, even if you do everything to properly maintain the vehicle, the longer you have it, the more outdated it becomes. It may get more difficult to keep it running because what you need in order to do so is becoming obsolete.

A similar principle applies with continuing education.  You want to operate at peak performance so you apply the things you initially learned in courses on a regular basis. But even though this is your maintenance program, as time passes, some things need to be updated. Being sure you’re keeping up with the latest technology and techniques of the disaster restoration industry continues to insure that you’re not outdated when the demands and standards of the industry changes. It will continue to put you at the forefront of the industry in terms of knowledge and trust. 

As the gold standard of Restoration Institutes, having IICRC certification along with the reputation you have built serves to make your company a more likely choice when the need for restoration arises.

As a technician, continuing education is key to raising your value either for your current company or it can elevate you above other candidates if you are seeking employment at a disaster restoration company.

In addition to the changes of technology and technique, construction also changes to fit the next modern style.  Thus far, you may currently go inside of a house to do mitigation and understand how to structurally dry out the materials.  If it is a house that was built before the mid 1970’s, you keep in mind the fact that it may have some elements of asbestos in the construction and tailor the process.

Modern construction can involve using alternative construction materials that will change the way you approach the job. Eventually, you likely encounter such jobs and being updated in your knowledge will help you to provide the best service in the proper way.

Ongoing education and even just having a refresh of knowledge is never a bad thing. It is a benefit and an asset. Not having continuing education is kind of like showing up at job today in a beat up van wielding a shop vac and a box fan and thinking it’s sufficient.