CERTIFICATION ~ NOT A MEMBERSHIP, NOT A PARTICIPATION TROPHY, AND NOT FOREVER
Let’s start with a formal definition:
Certification - cer·ti·fi·ca·tion - noun (as stated in the Oxford Dictionary):
The action or process of providing someone or something with an official document attesting to a status or level of achievement.
"A fundamental requirement for organic certification"
"Graduates who want to gain industry-recognized certifications"
A certification is only as good as YOUR commitment to maintaining it. Wait for it….continuing education that is tested, retested, and verified. If there’s no ongoing education, no renewal process, no re-evaluation, then it’s not a certification, it’s a membership or an annual dues payment and you get a pretty certificate for your wall. Real certifications require professionals to stay sharp, stay informed, and prove their competency over time. If you’re not being held to that standard by your so called certification, you’re not certified, you’re just carrying around a meaningless title and you should know better.
The Three Types of Certification:
Corporate – Internally created by a company or organization for its own use. Basically, all the current organizations and monitary educators in this indusrty.
Product-Specific – Just what it sounds like, certification focused on a specific software or machinery. We probably should have this for people who don’t know how to properly use belly bands, grooming tables and HV dryers. Hey product companies STEP UP YOUR EDUCATION!
Industry – The real deal. The most recognized and widely accepted across professional industries. I can name one I think, yup the IAPEG &*^%#^).
What is a Certified Trade or Trade Certification?
A trade certification is a career-specific program that teaches students how to perform a particular job or develop a skill set. Sound familiar? You get your formal education first.
Through what? A trade school. Wait…………..what? You mean I actually should go to school?
Yes, a trade school is an educational facility that specializes exclusively in professional trade certification programs. I know a damn good one that does nothing but play by the rules and has made some huge advancemtes this indusrty has never even thought about. If you already know what profession you want to pursue, you go to a trade school first. Hey, another blog post for the future, like groomers, and certification organizations, all schools are not created equally, there are a lot of shady “school owners” out there as well. And you’re next.
What qualifications do you need to get a trade certification?
Programs should require you to have a high school diploma or GED (FORMAL EDUCATION PEOPLE) to start the process. You want your GED in pet grooming? I know just the place you should check out.
They should require you to pass a standardized test to show understanding of basic concepts. How dare they! Take a basics test, yup and I bet you can’t or wont pass it on the first try.
They should require job experience as part of the qualification process. If I need to explain this then we really have a more serious problem.
How do you get a certification?
You pass an exam. Nothing worth having comes easy.
Meet ongoing educational requirements. Staying certified means staying current. Do your part.
Meet predetermined criteria, such as having a diploma or your GED in grooming. Certifications should require both formal education and certification to be recognized. Do I need to tell you again what Formal Education is?
The Truth About Certification vs. “Certification”
A true certification is an acknowledgment from a organization that you have met a professional standard and continue to uphold it. Again, it is earned through rigorous evaluation, exams, practical skill assessments, and ongoing professional development and contuined education. Do I need to give you the definitions of the differences between professional development and contuined education or can you look that up yourself? They are not the same. Fine, I will give you a hall pass, click the link above and its the third question down.
What it is not:
A participation award
A two-day workshop
A piece of paper handed to you at a trade show.
And to all the self-proclaimed educators out there, those of you handing out “certifications” and claiming you have certifed your so called students as a [inset your fake title here], you need to get a major education overhaul yourself. Learn what the word actually means before you contuine to mislead them. The same goes for you, trade show owners, who hand out these cute certificates like candy on Halloween, tricking poor, innocent groomers into believing they’ve earned something valuable. You are not educators, you are actors, playing a role and feeding lies to an industry that deserves better.
The reason the grooming industry isn’t growing the way it should? It’s because of you. You are too afraid to change, stuck in the 1800s, clinging to the old ways because that’s how it’s always been done. Shame on you. Our own industry leaders, the ones sitting at the top of the food chain, are the biggest part of the problem. I am pointing my one armed finger at you, because you are not doing your part properly.
Let’s recap now that you are frothing at the mouth.
Certification is earned, not given. It is a structured, professional standard with verifiable credibility.
A diploma or certificate from formal education is permanent; certification is not. It must be maintained and can be revoked if standards are not upheld.
Trade show handouts, weekend courses, and “certifications” from unrecognized sources are not real certifications. They hold no weight in the real world.
The biggest culprits? The self-proclaimed educators and trade show organizers handing out meaningless papers and misleading hardworking groomers.
If I have once again offended you, if I have pissed you off, if you are mad as hell because I just threw you under the bus. Good. Maybe you’ll wake up. Maybe you’ll take a lesson, enroll in actual continuing education (on education), and learn how real recognized trades operate. Maybe you’ll finally admit that you are part of the problem, outdated, irrelevant, and everything that needs to change. You belong at the bottom, not the top. Go ahead, hand out your little certificates, but leave the real education to the professionals who actually know what they’re doing.
And to the groomers, you are responsible here, too. Start asking questions. Stop drinking their Kool-Aid. Pay attention. Be aware.
Because at the end of the day, the ones who suffer the most from this fraud? The animals, the pet owners, and the groomers who are being lied to and cheated. You have rights and the responsibility to educate yourself on this subject.
Don’t forget, there are plenty of actors and actresses out there feeding you bad information and telling you what they think you need to hear. Start questioning them. The industry depends on it.