The winter months are all about preparing for the upcoming season. This includes purchasing and pricing strategies, marketing planning, learning about new products, and spending time on training. The right training can take your services to the next level in a very short amount of time. Whether it’s refreshing your team on material/systems they already know or learning a new products or product updates. There are many resources available from manufacturers, industry associations, and Central. We checked in with our Turf Director, Bob Hartman, to share with you some of our top opportunities.
Below you will find a list of six training and certification resources:
1. The National Association of Landscape Professionals
Want to ensure that you, or your team members, have mastered the basic landscape management knowledge needed to succeed? Then the options at the NALP online certificate program is for you. It is available in both English and Spanish. There are three courses, which can be taken individually or together, covering hardscape and plant installation, landscape maintenance, irrigation, and you get a fundamentals course as well. It’s an easy, flexible, and interactive way for landscape technicians to advance their skills – and earn a certificate. The courses are built for individual, self-paced study, however you can also choose to register multiple team members and have them learn together from the same expert playbook. An added bonus— these courses prepare people to advance their career by becoming certified. Learn more about the Landscape Industry Certified Exterior Technician exam and credential. These online certificate courses also satisfy the educational requirements for apprentices who are part of the Landscape Management Apprenticeship Program. Also available are webinars on all sorts of landscape and lawn care topics. Listen live or access archived webinars any time. You or your team can watch together or whenever it is convenient for you. Did you know that online education earns you CEUs toward Landscape Industry Certified recertification?
2. Lebanon Turf
Lebanon Turf offers online training resources that will guide you through the range of LebanonTurf fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide solutions, the science behind their effectiveness and their ideal applications, so you have the necessary information to educate your customers. After each training session you will be able to take a brief quiz to receive an official LebanonTurf certificate of completion. You can take the training sessions in any order and at your chosen pace. In addition they offer a range of articles and videos on topics such as: tree and flower care, soil health, grass seed, fertilizer, pests, weeds, and disease.
3. PBI GORDON
At PBI Gordon they offer product knowledge training modules to simplify the training process through flexible online segments that allow you to select and review specific products. Each of the site’s online training modules are between two and five minutes in length. This lets users quickly review product details and application information and get back to work.
4. The American Society of Landscape Architects
Landscape architects and related design professionals can now access information on continuing education courses from more than 130 approved providers with the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System™ (LA CES™). Offering educational opportunities focused on water conservation, stormwater management, green roofs, accessibility, smart growth, soils, and materials — as well as professional applications such as CADD and GIS — LA CES provides one-stop shopping for courses on sustainable design, livable communities, and environmental planning.
5. BASF
At BASF, they create chemistry for a sustainable future, combining economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, they enable customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. If you are looking for resources and education for your ornamentals, you’re in the right place.
6. Central Turf & Irrigation Supply
Central helps you train your team members to be even more productive with local classes, access to online education classes, counter training events, and onsite support/training from subject matter experts. Whether you need help with technical troubleshooting, customized training for your team, or product demos and hands-on training, you can rely on Central.  Connect with your local Central rep to learn more about the training opportunities that are available to you. We stay at the leading edge of the industry and we’re ready to help you grow!