CTEF Blog - About Tile Education and Installer Certification

When it comes to successfully completing kitchen and bath installations, Qualified Labor matters. It helps ensure that the tile installation will perform as expected and look as designed for years to come in spaces that demand a great deal from proper performance. 

Given how demanding these spaces are, there's a tremendous benefit to ensuring that designers and installers collaborate as Dan Hecox showed us in Dan Hecox Inspires Designers, Tile Installers to Aspire to Higher Standards. The more designers understand the requirements of tile installations that perform and the better tile installers communicate with designers, the more likely success is all around.

In a nutshell, tile installation certification programs transform the tile trade and industry for the better. Those programs include the Certified Tile Installer (CTI) program as well as the Advanced Certifications for Tile Installers (ACT) program.  #TransformTheTrade   

Are you familiar with the Global Monumental Hand-Print Tile Industry Mural Project?

It's a massively big project, conceived by the Tile Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to research and the preservation of ceramic surfaces. The mural honors all who participate in and contribute to the tile industry; it also supports Tile Heritage's vital tile industry archiving work. 

Will you participate? 

Are you familiar with Total Solutions Plus (TSP)? It's a yearly event that brings together the ceramic tile industry to network and learn from one another. It's also a testament to the high level of collaboration that exists within the entire industry.

No wonder you see "Partners in Progress" prominently highlighted!

Are you involved in apprenticeship programs, vocational and/or trade schools for tile installation help? If your answer is no, why not?

Let's discuss the present and future of tile and the need for Qualified Labor.

Are you familiar with Tile Money? Created by tile contractor Luke Miller, this podcast/YouTube channel is all about helping other tile contractors run a successful and profitable tile business:

"Tile Money is the source of business knowledge and advice for today’s Tile Contractor."

If you've spent any time in the tile industry, care deeply about quality tile installation, and embrace installing tile according to industry standards, you will have heard of Scott Carothers, director of certification and training for the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF).

And, if you follow the CTEF Blog, you’re surely familiar with the ‘Ask Scott’ article series. 

However, if you're new to tile and just exploring tile installation certification, Scott is someone you will soon encounter and quickly appreciate for his deep knowledge, high standards and intense passion. Not to mention his firsthand involvement in certification, both for the Certified Tile Installer (CTI) program and the Advanced Certifications for Installers (ACT) program.

>> See What Types of Tile Certification Does CTEF Offer?

This article celebrates Steve Rausch, a passionate tile industry and CTEF advocate who never missed a moment to promote quality and Qualified Labor.

Steve passed away unexpectedly on June 8th, 2019. As you might imagine, all of us at CTEF will miss him. 

Every industry has its associations. What makes the tile industry particularly remarkable is the level of collaboration that takes place between its associations and organizations. The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF) is an example of that collaboration, working with all those in the industry who are passionate about quality tile installation.

To give you some perspective on those dynamics, we've put together this updated list detailing each tile industry association.