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COMMUNICATES
The ESPA Program: Building the Workforce, Raising Awareness
Jeff Gardner Jeff Gardner ESC-T, ESC-D, CTS is the executive director of ESPA. Before his lengthy tenure on CEDIA staff he worked as a residential systems designer for a top 50 integrator, project manager for an acoustics company, and spent many years in pro audio — in live and studio production and recording studio design.
FOUNDERS
Ten years ago, some of the industry’s top association professionals saw the need for standardized training and certification for new technicians coming into the industry, regardless of what sector they were going to work in — commercial or residential, even areas such as cable, satellite, and security. It was a great idea, but it was launched just before the recession hit. When the economic downturn was in full swing, those training and certification programs became fairly inactive — after all, no one was hiring. By 2015, though, that initiative — called the ESPA program — was growing right along with the economy. In my role at CEDIA as director of technical training, and then director of certification, ESPA was something I worked on as a “side project,” but by 2015 ESPA needed someone to take the helm full-time. So, I accepted the challenge of focusing exclusively on the growth and success of ESPA.
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