The National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) announces its training and education programs for 2021. “We are excited to be heading back on the road (in a safe manner) this year to bring our seminars and workshops to our members across the country,” says Jim Olson, Assistant Executive Director, who oversees training and education programs for the NTCA.

Each year, the NTCA reaches over 8,000 industry professionals through a variety of educational programs, including hands on workshops. These workshops are usually hosted by a tile distributor at their site, providing an excellent opportunity for tile distributors to offer valuable education/training to their customers. The workshops usually take place in the evening, but can be done at any time of day. NTCA has scheduled 53 three-hour evening workshops and 35 daylong hands-on regional training programs.

Regional training programs were introduced in 2018 and offer comprehensive, hands-on training related to specific skills required for certain products and systems. Examples include gauged porcelain tile panels and large-format tile installations, substrate preparation and more.

“NTCA training instructors are technically-trained individuals with real-world tile contracting experience who are eager to share their knowledge with others,” Olson added. NTCA was forced to cancel 29 0f 30 scheduled programs in 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

Information and registration for training programs are available at the NTCA website, www.tile-assn.com under the Education & Certification dropdown menu. Interested parties can select programs of interest, click on it and register for the event. NTCA has a text notification service for upcoming educational events. Interested parties need only text “NTCA” to 31996 on their phones to sign up for alerts.

Established in 1947, the NTCA is a nonprofit trade association, with more than 1600 members, dedicated to the professional installation of ceramic tile and natural stone. It is widely recognized as the largest and most respected tile contractor’s association in the world.