1. The reason for adopting the ISO standard by ICAC and by ETA is that ISO (International Organization for Standards) had seen a proliferation of all kinds of certifications in the past decade or so compared with the 40's thru 90's. Many of these were company certifications that gave a credential to a person who could use a particular brand or product, but which were not industry-wide. Some were simply diploma mills in the certification business for profit. Some had no chance of survival thus making their certifications valueless when they went belly up. ISO would not have been interested in this, except that many countries have begun to rely on the certifications as proof of competency. Since a growing number were not worthy, ISO decided to set standards so that a certification, operating under its policies and rules, would be rather certain to be valid and thus could be trusted by people and businesses anywhere in the world. They might not have been so interested if certifications were only used in a single country such as the U.S. and would certainly have some sort of government or industry approval so that they were shown to be reliable. It is the same idea as you wanting to be assured that the certification, or licensing, of a doctor or jet engine mechanic meant the

ETA and the other ICAC certification providers decided the certifications we provide would become only some of the mix of all kinds of real and worthless certifications. That would mean our certifications would not be meaningful to those who studied and took the time and money to become registered and certified. 

2. ICAC requires that ETA maintain contact with certificants to ascertain that they are working in the field they certified in, simply to prove that that CET is keeping up with the profession and is still a reliable technician as an employee or a servicer to the public. We can't follow each CET around to validate his/her abilities and knowledge and currency, but we can maintain an annual contact and we can verify relevant work or schooling experiences. It makes no sense to certify a tech in 1960, have him/her never touch a soldering iron or DMM and yet claim to be an accomplished craftsman that truly could not hold a modern day tech job. 

In ETA we now ask that each CET contact us annually and let us know his/her status education/experience-wise. If he is working in the field, it is a pretty good bet that he is keeping up with technology. If he is taking schooling, or teaching school, it is also an indication that he is keeping up and is a valid CET. I ask you the question: "Do you think an FCC 1st class license gained in 1940 would still be an appropriate guide to his ability to service modern-day 2-way radio equipment?" Our own techs have complained about that problem ever since I had begun electronics training back in the 50's. In ETA we try to do better - for the benefit of those holding the CET. 

3. Say you have 2 CETs: such as a WCM and IND. We ask only that you pay one fee to have both updated each year. That fee is only $35. Along with that, but not THE reason for the fee, is a complimentary membership in ETA. To some, that may not seem like a bargain, but to anyone who checks out what other technical organizations charge for renewal certification, we know of none that is that good or economical. How could you do it for less? 

4. If you do not work in a field related to your specialties, you have to retest at each 4 year anniversary. So, what good is the yearly updating? It gives ETA a chance to verify the CET. We can also indicate to anyone interested and on his certificate that, yes, he has certified. We can also respond that he last updated 1, 2, 3 or 4 years ago and thus isn't up to date, but has been certified. We don't report that anyone who became ETA certified is no longer recognized as at one time having the knowledge and skills to become a CET. Maybe you have a better policy but this is the best we can do to be fair to the techs and to the profession. 

5. We have published the renewal information in all of our brochures; on our website; in our HTN publication; at conventions and directly by phone or e-mail to inquirers. It sometimes take time for policies to become well known. 

Certification is not required for membership in ETA. It is open to members and nonmembers. Of course, as you can see above, once a tech does become certified, if he renews each year, he then IS an ETA member by virtue of the complimentary membership. That membership also helps us to keep him informed about changes that are bound to happen through the years. 

We realized that to comply with ISO 17024 and for ICAC to comply with ISO 17011, a standard for organizations that assess other certification providers, would be much more work for us and would be a bit of a nuisance for CETS. But I ask you, would you like to see drivers licenses never having to be renewed? Incompetent or incapable people driving with no control over their competency to keep from killing you? So, it is an additional burden for everyone. But the officers, CAs and members overwhelmingly approved complying with these more stringent procedures and safeguards. We still do not have our policy manual totally completed in regard to renewals because the many programs we provide and the different levels and the exceptions that can and do pop up, take special treatment. We are working on putting everything together in a policy manual, just for renewal certification, but that manual is looking to end up being at least an inch thick, by itself. It isn't a simple thing to make sure we are fair to everyone. We also have older certifications that we're deeming LIFETIME. We can't change that, although most LIFETIME CETs have opted to join the reasonable and necessary move to renewal. We have the issue of techs having multiple CETs and multiple due dates. What do you do to accommodate them so that they are given the best options? We try to do just that.