Most general contractors, according to us, regard continuing education as necessary, time-consuming, and easy to postpone. It may not sound like a serious issue at first, but this mindset can quietly undersell what a good continuing education (CE) program can do for your career. When you invest in the right CE course, it goes beyond keeping your licence active and also sharpens how you manage risk, lead crews, and even price jobs.
It helps you to effectively navigate the dynamic construction industry in Georgia. And if you’re wondering how you can choose the best course, here are some tips.
1. First, Understand the Board’s Requirements
The most important step in choosing the right course is to get clear on what the Georgia State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors expects. Your required number of CE hours will depend on the type of licence you hold. Residential Basic Individual and Residential Basic Qualifying Agent licence holders both must complete 3 hours of CE every year. If you have the Residential Light Commercial Individual or Residential Light Qualifying Agent licences, you will need 6 hours of CE yearly.
It’s highly recommended to get such courses from an accredited Georgia contractor continuing education provider like RocketCert. This way, you will be sure that the programs you take are updated and of high quality. What’s more, state-approved providers will report your hours to the board once you complete your course. That’s one less step to take during the renewal process.
2. Study the Gaps in Your Last Year
It’s not uncommon for contractors to choose their CE course by working backwards from the renewal deadline. The better approach, however, is to work backwards from your last 12 months on the job. Try focusing on the areas that felt shaky. It could be the labour shortages that forced you to depend on less-experienced subcontractors or contract disputes that dragged on longer than they should have.
There will always be endless friction points, and these are clues. By identifying them, you can choose a CE course that directly addresses where you lost time, money, or even peace or mind in the past year. When you treat CE as corrective maintenance for your business, rather than a bureaucratic hurdle, you are likely to take it more seriously.
3. Never Overlook the “Boring” Topics
Your CE course must cover the board-specified topics, but most of these don’t sound quite exciting. Still, topics related to safety protocols, contract law, and even compliance updates are typically the ones that protect your margins the most. That’s in consideration that a single misunderstanding of building codes or insurance requirements, for instance, can risk your entire profits from a project.
It’s also good to keep in mind that code updates and enforcement interpretations can vary by jurisdiction. For this reason, CE courses that give more insight into how inspectors are currently interpreting regulations, as opposed to just restating them, are highly valuable.
4. Get Courses That Teach Decision-Making
One of the most important skills you need as a contractor is good decision-making. The best courses will walk you through real contractor decisions, such as how to document changes properly, how to handle non-performing subcontractors, how to react when a project falls behind schedule, and more.
When reviewing CE options, therefore, it’s a good idea to look beyond the topics that have been covered and focus more on how the material is delivered. A course description that mentions scenarios, instructor-led discussions, and case studies is a sign that the course is designed by professionals for professionals.
Ready to Use CE to Rise in Your Career?
The idea of using CE to catch up may look sufficient, but trust us that it’s more rewarding to use it to get ahead. By choosing the right courses, such as the ones rocketcert.com offers, you gain knowledge that will enhance your skills and make you more valuable to your clients and employers.
And even though we’ve mentioned only tips in this post, they can make all the difference when it comes to finding the best CE courses for your needs.
