Certification Spotlight:

Ron Zaccaro on test day

Volunteers Critical to Technician Exam

When it comes to PLANET’s Landscape Industry Certified Technician-Exterior (formerly CLT-E) test, how important are volunteers? Sandy Munley, executive director of the Ohio Landscape Association (OLA) puts it succinctly when she says, “Without volunteers there would be no test. Starting with the committee all the way through test day, the knowledge, experience, and skills volunteers bring to the table are invaluable. … As a group, our volunteers share a tremendous passion for the certification program and understand that becoming certified is a great way for landscape contractors to show they are a cut above.”

Volunteer Ron Zaccaro, Landscape Industry Certified Technician, agrees. The regional manager for Pacific Green Landscape in San Diego has been involved with the California Landscape Contractors Association certification program from the start and has held just about every position on the committee. Currently, he is the state’s test manager.

“The test is so important to the industry,” he relates. “For volunteers like me, it’s rewarding to participate in a program that upholds industry standards. But it’s also equally rewarding to be there on test day, seeing the applicants’ faces, knowing what they’re going through, and seeing them succeed.” (Source: Spring 2012 Inside Certification)

Certification

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Click Here for the NEW Honor Wall of Landscape Industry Certified

The Vision Statement for PLANET's Certification program is:

"driven by market demand, every professional landscape firm aspires to have PLANET-certified employees on staff."

The International Certification Council (ICC) is the group that seeks to make that vision a reality by establishing certification programs, administering exams, and enforcing ethical compliance of all certification programs on behalf of PLANET.

Beginning in January 2010, PLANET's certification program assumed a new brand name — Landscape Industry Certified. The new brand name speaks clearly to consumers, is supported and used internationally, shows credibility and commitment to best practices, and leaves a lasting impression.

Stand out from your competitors and enhance your personal credentials — become Landscape Industry Certified through PLANET. Please take a tour for details on the new brand and how it impacts you.

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Certification Headlines

• ICC Chair-Elect David Hupman quoted in “Time to Step Up.”
• National Lawn Care Month and certification highlighted in “Lawn Care Month Offers Opportunities for Training, Customer Outreach.”
• Landscape Industry Certified listed in Best Picks Report, Northern VA 2012 edition, under “Hiring a Landscape Company.”
• PRO did a series on the Landscape Industry Certified Manager designation in 2011. The magazine is now focusing on the Technician certification. Check out “Certification Takes Center Stage” to kick off this 2012 series.
• Landscape and Irrigation highlighted PLANET certification in the fall of 2011 and again in January 2012 with “Tips on Leveraging Your Landscape Industry Certified Status.”
• Certification goes blogging in “New Year’s Certification Challenge – Promote and Maintain.”
• PLANET News featured certification on its cover: Landscape Industry Certified “I’m certifiable and so are you”

In Their Own Words...

"Certification is something that allows me to define and set the standard for what I want from employees. To be certified means unequivocally that we are safer, more knowledgeable, more efficient, and more productive. I can say with confidence that once they become certified, our employees are professionals who absolutely understand the proper management and care of property, execute quality work, and are dedicated to safe practices." — Shayne Newman, Landscape Industry Certified Manager & Technician, YardApes, New Milford, Connecticut