The end of the year is coming up fast and for some, it may be time to become recertified.
“It’s really about developing and continuing to grow professionally,” says Margo Rash, NALP’s director of professional services and programs. “Your certification really is the baseline requirement for that credential, but you want to go beyond the baseline. There’s that continuing pursuit to learn new things, to continue to develop and grow.”
While you only have to recertify every two years, time may have slipped away, or you might not have been keeping track of your Continuing Education Units (CEUs). In order to recertify, you need to earn 24 CEUs, with a minimum of 16 being education-related. On the NALP website, you can log in and report your CEUs as you go.
“There are some activities that we do require documentation,” Rash says. “So, for example, if you go to have a college class or you’re getting your pesticide license or something like that, we need to see either your card or your certificate of certification.”
If you are searching for ways to earn some CEUs before the year is out, below are some options to consider.
LANDSCAPES 2020
If you missed out on attending LANDSCAPES 2020: The Virtual Experience, you can still view all these sessions by purchasing the All-Access Pass. This event alone offers 37 CEU opportunities. Topics include benchmarking for profit, how to create a modern workplace and developing a simple and effective fleet safety program.
Innovation & Technology Forum
By watching the Innovation & Technology Forum sessions, you can earn up to 5 CEUs. This virtual event covers how lawn care and landscape businesses are using technology to improve productivity, streamline systems and transform operations. This content can also be viewed with the All-Access Pass.
On Tour
On Tour are free events that are part video facility tour and part live Zoom Q&A. Learn tips, tricks and inspiration by hearing how others in the industry run their businesses. Each On Tour earns you one CEU. There are currently two recorded On Tours with Kingstowne Lawn & Landscape and Rossen Landscape.
Don’t miss the upcoming On Tour with Weed Man on Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. ET.
OSHA Online 10-Hour Course
If you want the very best safety training for your team, the OSHA 10-Hour Course provides comprehensive safety training, including in-depth information on the prevention of workplace hazards, workers’ rights, employer responsibilities, filing complaints, and more. Attending this course is worth 10 CEUs.
If you aren’t under a time crunch for CEUs, there is an upcoming online OSHA 10-Hour Safety Course on Jan. 19-20.
Webinars
Webinars provide one CEU per event and NALP has an archive of numerous webinar topics you can watch as time allows.
“Typically, anything that’s is green industry related we accept, even if it’s business-related,” Rash says. “Sales, marketing, corporate finance, those kinds of topics would be appropriate.”
Webinars from other industry organizations such as the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado and the Interlocking Concrete Paver Institute also count for one CEU.
Bookstore
An often overlooked method of earning CEUs is taking advantage of the materials in the NALP bookstore.
“If they even go into our toolkits and read some of those, that counts,” Rash says. “Buy a book, read it. If at some point you determine you want to get another certification, buy the lawn care technician manual and do your study. You’re killing two birds with one stone. You’re able to claim it for continuing education and you are learning about the business.”
