Associations Focus: Social Networking with InfoComm
Sep 1, 2008 12:00 PM
InfoComm International has launched a new social-networking site: community.infocomm.org. Create a profile and join special interest groups, share resources, and more.
Think of how useful it would be to have an instant connection to hundreds of people around the world in one place at one time — all sharing information, interacting with each other, and sharing thoughts about common interests and industry issues. As a member of the InfoComm social network, you have the ability to connect with other AV industry professionals and share knowledge, tips, and trends.
The InfoComm social networking site provides you connections to:
Networks: These groups are automatically built based on the certifications, interests, job history, and education that you specify in your profile. Find people who share your background and interests or discover common interests among your existing contacts.
Resource libraries: These contain material related to specific industry-specific topics or groups. Documents (including Word, Notepad, PowerPoint, and Excel); video clips; and audio clips can all be added to a resource library.
Egroups: These provide a way to stay up to date on the latest information posted related to a specific topic of interest or group, such as councils and committees, special-interest groups and products/technologies.
For more information about InfoComm Community, contact Shana Rieger, program manager, at [email protected].
STEP IT UP
You’ve already made the wise career choice to attain your general CTS. Now you must consider the next step. Are you going to pursue the CTS-I or the CTS-D? You can take your CTS-I exam at a Prometric testing center near you instead of coming to Fairfax, Va.
“The CTS-I exam was a very fair and evenly distributed test of the material. Also, frankly it was much easier taking it at the testing center where the environment was quiet and peaceful,” says James Triplett, CTS-I, an AV specialist from Washington, D.C.
As for the CTS-D, the new exam will be offered in the fall. Updates and information will be posted to www.infocomm.org/cts. Give your career a boost. Customers are asking for these certifications.
“Clients are not just asking us if we have any CTS-I holders, they’re asking us how many CTS-I holders we have,” says Daniel Brewster, vice president of sales at Inter Technologies.
Visit www.infocomm.org/cts for more information about applying for the next step up.
CTS STUDY GROUP
InfoComm International offered its newest course, GEN112 CTS Study Group, at InfoComm 08. The study group is specifically designed to help candidates assess their strengths and weaknesses in AV skill areas as they prepare to take the exam. Work is both collaborative and instructor-led, and it includes a detailed look at the exam’s content areas.
Based on the course evaluations received, students attending found the course to be very helpful in identifying their strong and weak skill and knowledge areas. Some students decided that they were ready for the exam, and several wisely decided that they needed further study in one or more content areas.
InfoComm is excited to offer a course aimed at helping members and non-members alike as they prepare for this exam, and it plans to offer the same course format for the CTS-I and CTS-D exams in the months ahead. It is recommended that individuals interested in taking the course demonstrate mastery of the AV Essentials curriculum, either from the online course or the InfoComm publication of the same name.
“I took the CTS exam during InfoComm 08 after attending CTS Study Group and passed. I believe that CTS Study Group helped me prepare,” says Tim Miller, CTS, senior account executive at DMX.
The Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) credential is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) under the international standard ISO/IEC 17024, General Requirements for Bodies Operating Certification Schemes of Persons program. CTS Study Group will be offered Oct. 19-21 in Fairfax, Va.
Important Note: Attendance in this program in no way guarantees that you will pass the exam. This program does not necessarily cover all the topics listed in the CTS content outline. For more information about the course, please visit www.infocomm.org/cts.
AV COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS RISE IN 2008
InfoComm has released its 2008 Compensation and Benefits Survey. This marks the seventh such report released by InfoComm since 1998, and it brings into focus current industry-wide compensation and benefits practices, and examines leading trends that are impacting this critically important area. The survey collected responses from individuals with more than 25 AV industry job titles at more than 160 companies, representing a total of nearly 5,400 audiovisual industry professionals.
The 2008 Compensation and Benefits Survey reflects a positive outlook for the AV industry. Seventy-five percent of respondents report an increase in gross revenue from 2006 to 2007, and 80 percent expect to see 2008 numbers surpass those for 2007. Overall staff turnover rates since the 2006 survey have increased slightly to 7.7 percent from 6 percent, with a majority of smaller companies reporting no staff turnover and larger companies having median staff turnover rates of about 10 percent.
To more information or to purchase your copy of the report, please visit www.infocomm.org/marketresearch.
