Welcome, Peter! A great point. As there are also "CPT's" in this country who took anything from a correspondence course to a decent one-year course in basic piano technology. The "equivalent" reference may be a way to ensure that a competent pool of applicants are available in a small market, but it also can be a way to solicit a technician at a lower cost, without regard to certification. The RPT provides a measurement of a certain level of skill and knowledge. It is reasonably inexpensive for the examinee. It is a sign that the tech receives a technical journal, and may be participating in continuing education and peer networking, and it provides the market with a standard. Some will regard it as beneath them, as they might an additional CAUT Endorsement. If the RPT is the only bona fide certification in the U.S., but is not required by law to practice the trade, the market is the primary force. It is a certification of basic field service abilities, not a school or training course degree. If a member chooses not to test, he/she is an Associate Member. The PTG is a trade association, and wants all piano service professionals to participate, even while it franchises and markets its certified members. The ease in which the RPT examinations can be taken in large parts of the country makes the discussion more about whether there is value in testing. Does the marketplace want the RPT? A CAUT Endorsement enhances the RPT for the university marketplace. Many associations have a similar situation, even when there is more government participation in regulating the trade. There is opportunity for work when a person has training and abilities, even without the standard certification. There is usually more opportunity WITH it (even though that might not be important to some in this unregulated marketplace). And the CAUT Endorsement could enhance the RPT for the university marketplace. The idea of recognizing other certifications and courses of instruction has come up over the years, but has never gotten any steam. The PTG membership structure accommodates pretty well through the RPT/Associate Member structure the need to market it's certification (RPT) while providing trade association opportunity with the Associate Member. OK...the coffee is a good idea...as is getting my do list started today..... Bill Bill Shull, RPT, M.Mus. CAUT Committee Member bdshull at aol.com In a message dated 5/9/2010 8:56:27 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, petersumner at mac.com writes: My first post....but not my first rodeo... As we are a nation of immigrants and I am in my 13th year, are there qualifications from other parts of the world that the esteemed members here would regard as 'better than'...'equivalent to'...'not as good as'...the RPT registration? The RPT is a registration validated by tests which establish basic competence...and requires an annual fee to keep 'current'. Technicians in a factory in Hamburg serve a six year apprenticeship... Similar entities are offered in Japan...and possibly other countries... A three year full time course in Newark, England produced between 8 and 12 technicians each year who passed externally invidulated and monitored written, practical and tuning examinations. Just an idle thought on a Northern California morning as the coffee creeps into my bones and I gleefully read the disparate postings as they pop into my mailbox....all very entertaining....thank you all..... Peter Sumner Redwood City California. On May 9, 2010, at 12:30 AM, _Bdshull at aol.com_ (mailto:Bdshull at aol.com) wrote: Hi, Wim, Forgive me, you DO have a good point and I didn't acknowledge that. We should be in a position to respond to the immediate needs of a school with a vacancy, that is an important time to be resourceful. Because we'd like school administrators and their colleagues of influence (piano professors, other leading piano teachers, other administrators) to already have a good idea of what to look for and where to go to get a piano technician. It's often too late by the time the job opens up. The job is already structured based on preconceived ideas, tradition, not CAUT Guidelines recommendations. Etc. But you're right in that "striking while the iron is hot" is an effective approach. It's just that even in good times, the piano service program is often where money is "saved." And there is always someone who can do the job for half the price, who might not have a clear idea of what is needed for the school's piano service program, but who is willing to tune pianos and follow direction. "RPT-equivalent," broadly defined, is usually good enough..... We'd like administrators to always think of RPT when they think of who to find....and RPT, not "RPT-equivalent," whatever that means; and the rest of the package too - satisfactory workload formula/staff support, support for continuing education, sufficient parts and supplies inventory, student help, etc.... And a PTG which has committed to a college and university technician's special skills and knowledge through the CAUT Endorsement and ongoing and relevant CE is a good way to ensure our product is their best choice. Bill In a message dated 5/8/2010 8:51:24 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, _tnrwim at aol.com_ (mailto:tnrwim at aol.com) writes: Annual mailers, publ of studies of univ rpt use and workload practices in Clavier etc....consistent message and trained workforce....that is jist a start.....plus hire a marketing consultant Bill Bill You missed my point. I said earlier that about 6-10 new CAUT jobs open up every year. Instead of sending the CAUT info to ALL the schools, why not send it to the ones that are looking for a new tech. Educate them 6-10 schools at a time, so to speak, instead of trying to market them all at once. Wim -----Original Message----- From: bdshull <_bdshull at aol.com_ (mailto:bdshull at aol.com) > To: _caut at ptg.org_ (mailto:caut at ptg.org) Sent: Sat, May 8, 2010 4:50 pm Subject: Re: [CAUT] Preaching to the choir; was University of Idaho Piano Tech Vacancy Annual mailers, publ of studies of univ rpt use and workload practices in Clavier etc....consistent message and trained workforce....that is jist a start.....plus hire a marketing consultant Bill , Sent from my HTC Tilt™ 2, a Windows® phone from AT&T ____________________________________ From: _tnrwim at aol.com_ (mailto:tnrwim at aol.com) Sent: Saturday, May 08, 2010 6:38 PM To: _caut at ptg.org_ (mailto:caut at ptg.org) Subject: Re: [CAUT] Preaching to the choir; was University of Idaho Piano Tech Vacancy Wim, Just to be clear (I made the point in my post a moment ago).....The universities aren't getting the message. They don't get it because the PTG isn't willing to spend any money on this. The PTG isn't interested in spending money to educate university administration. CAUTs should be willing to augment their dues in order to support the concerns Jeff has raised, and only AFTER a CAUT Endorsement is passed showing we actually care about having RPTs properly trained for basic university piano service. Regards, Bill Bill Referring to my other post, how much money are we talking about to send this information to 6-10 schools a year? Can this money either be taken out of the current budget, or would it be possible to ask for a line item increase in the CAUT budget to cover this expense? Wim -----Original Message----- From: _Bdshull at aol.com_ (mailto:Bdshull at aol.com) To: _caut at ptg.org_ (mailto:caut at ptg.org) Sent: Sat, May 8, 2010 2:52 pm Subject: Re: [CAUT] Preaching to the choir; was University of Idaho Piano Tech Vacancy Wim, Just to be clear (I made the point in my post a moment ago).....The universities aren't g [The entire original message is not included]= = -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20100509/559a31ee/attachment.htm>
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