Last month, the Electronic Systems Professional Alliance (ESPA), founded in 2006 to meet the increasing demand for properly trained electronic systems technicians, announced that Jeff Gardner – the organization’s first executive director – retired.
From our perspective, the industry owes a lot to Gardner. He first joined ESPA in 2016 after serving on staff at CEDIA for nine years, directing technical training and industry certification. For three years, he managed ESPA’s industry-recognized training and certification for entry-level electronic systems technicians (ESTs). As a result, the EST career path is now one of the fastest growing in North America.
Now that the founders of ESPA – CEDIA, NSCA, and CTA – all have in-house workforce development staff members who can keep ESPA growing, we’ll be able to maintain what Gardner developed as we continue to help young professionals enter the communications technology industry. NSCA’s Ignite initiative is a good example. Created in 2016, this program aims to connect students and young professionals with the multi-billion-dollar communications technology industry and its many career opportunities.
Much of ESPA’s day-to-day work originally managed by Gardner will now transition to CEDIA, NSCA, and CTA, including managing the EST certification process, bringing on schools as ESPA Authorized Training Partners, raising awareness of the EST career path, and gaining additional support among industry stakeholders.
As integrators look for talented technicians and installers, looking for qualified ESTs is a good place to start. The ESPA certification helps you recognize entry-level technicians who have the skill set, training, and professionalism to be effective on the job immediately and advance rapidly. Certified ESTs possess a solid foundation of knowledge that’s in line with industry best practices while allowing them to be flexible enough to adapt to your company’s culture.
ESTs have proven their mastery of communications technology, know the ins and outs of low-voltage installation terminologies and techniques, and are committed to a career in this industry.
“Working with ESPA has been a great fun,” says Gardner. “I’m thankful that I was able to make a lasting impact on the industry.” In the future, he plans to teach for CEDIA and ramp up his own recording studio design/build business.
For more information about ESPA, visit www.espa.org or contact CEDIA Director of Certification David Whitney (dwhitney@espa.org) or CEDIA Director of Workforce Development Tommy Tabor (ttabor@cedia.org) at 800-669-5329.
And best of luck to you, Jeff! Thanks for everything!