The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals now has an operator certification course for the maintenance, service and operation of commercial and public aquatics facilities.
The Professional Pool & Spa Operator (PPSO) course is meant to fulfill the two-day course requirements currently held by 24 states for the commercial segment. However, it will be offered in all 50 states.
The instruction is conveyed through a book, either print or digital, along with videos and hands-on activities meant to appeal to the learning styles of those with and without natural strengths in technical content. An instructors guide contains lesson plans designed to focus on the fundamentals, with demonstrations.
APSP ran a similar program with the same name about 15 years ago but decided to discontinue it shortly after. But the group decided the time is right to roll out a similar program, with commercial work becoming a more viable and common revenue stream for the organization’s members.
“There was a sense that a straightforward program was needed in this space, that would allow a person to really deal with the key information that would help them do their job the next day,” said APSP President/CEO Rich Gottwald.
The latest incarnation is different than the previous PPSO, he added.
The program will be available Jan. 1 of 2018, at which point APSP expects the PPSO course to be accepted in all 24 states that require certification, Gottwald said. “We are over 50% of the way now,” he said. “It’s just a matter of time at this point.”
This seems one more area where APSP and NSPF are going head-to-head. For years, the CPO program has been one of NSPF’s signatures in the industry, essentially going unchallenged. “There are plenty of people who need educating, and we want to be the go-to source for that,” Gottwald said. “[PPSO] was not designed to compete with them, but at the end of the day, it probably will.”
