ST. LOUIS, Missouri (September 9, 2016) – Since the National Wood Flooring Association launched NWFA University just eight weeks ago, more than 2,800 courses have been completed.

NWFA University is a new training platform that expands NWFA’s highly recognized hands-on training programs with online learning courses that can be completed when and where users want it.

“While we were confident that our members would respond positively to the courses we took more than a year to develop before launching, we never imagined that the University would be successful this quickly,” says Michael Martin, President & CEO. “Nearly 3,000 courses completed is an unbelievable number to achieve in just eight weeks.”

While NWFAU currently offers about 50 individual courses so far, more are being added every day. A series of courses leads to the earning of badges. These badges lead to certifications, with defined career paths, for installation, sand and finish, sales, and inspection. Courses for architects, designers, and consumers will be added in the future.

NWFAU is not just attracting attention from the flooring industry, but from other industries as well. In August, NWFAU was mentioned in The Hill Congressional blog, being praised for offering credentials via online courses and hands-on training opportunities. You can view the blog at http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/education/291516-heres-why-associations-are-primed-for-a-digital-renaissance.

Also in August, the NWFAU badging system was featured in a blog posted by Credly, the digital credential partner of NWFAU. NWFA’s Education Director, Stephanie Owen, explained the thought process behind the badging system saying, “With a dwindling labor supply, we wanted to engage young professionals with digital credentials that would make them more marketable. If they are contracted to install flooring, they literally can show potential customers their certification on their mobile device. Since we already were transitioning some of our training to the online environment, the digital credentials made sense.” You can view the blog at http://blog.credly.com/nwfa-digital-credentials/.

Additional accolades for NWFAU came from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) during their annual meeting last month. NWFAU was presented to association executives from across the globe as a model for meaningful and affordable training. The platform was praised for providing distinct and defined career paths for wood flooring professionals. ASAE also highlighted NWFAU in an article posted about online learning at http://associationsnow.com/2016/08/digital-certification-associations-next-generation-opportunity/.

More information about NWFA University is available at www.nwfa.org/nwfa-university.aspx, or by calling the NWFA at 800.422.4556.

The National Wood Flooring Association is a not-for-profit trade organization, with more than 3,400 member companies worldwide, dedicated to educating consumers, architects, designers, specifiers and builders in the uses and benefits of wood flooring. NWFA members receive the best in educational training, benefits, technical resources and networking, to advance their professionalism and success. The NWFA is located at 111 Chesterfield Industrial Boulevard, Chesterfield, MO 63005, and can be contacted at 800.422.4556 (USA & Canada), 636.519.9663 (local and international), or online at www.nwfa.org.

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