Speaker 1 00:00:05 Welcome to the clear impact podcast brought to you by PGT university. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sherry Conner and I am your host. So Jim, you want to do a podcast today? Not really
Speaker 2 00:00:22 Come on. I'm done with podcast. No, you can't
Speaker 1 00:00:25 Be done with podcast.
Speaker 2 00:00:26 Absolutely done. I'm moving on a video.
Speaker 1 00:00:30 I can do a video podcast. On today's episode, we did something a little different. We packed up the podcast studio and traveled to Florida's east coast for a recent training event. So we're calling this our roadshow series. Part one is with Jim shank, our senior manager of customer education and innovation as he gives us a sneak peek on what's ahead for PGT university, a new learning platform certifications and a mobile app. Listen to learn more. So Jim jury, we are recording from
Speaker 2 00:01:00 What this is
Speaker 1 00:01:01 Being recorded. This is being recorded and we are in the training room that we have turned. It's a conference room slash ballroom slash meeting room that we've turned into a training room. That's also doubling as podcast studio. Yes. And where are we? We are in Dania beach, Dania
Speaker 2 00:01:16 Beach, where
Speaker 1 00:01:17 Pretty close to Fort Lauderdale
Speaker 2 00:01:19 South. Yes, rata. I have 95 and 95,
Speaker 1 00:01:23 But there is not a Hilton garden Inn in Fort Lauderdale. It is actually in Dania
Speaker 2 00:01:27 Beach. There we go. And we are here
Speaker 1 00:01:29 And here we are
Speaker 2 00:01:31 With a room full of people,
Speaker 1 00:01:33 A room full of people who just had some pizza and some conversation and a full morning of PGT product training. Indeed. And we had enough time because Patrick Jamison is so efficient and effective at his job of training. We had enough time to do some commercials for our team. Indeed. That was fun. So what were some of the things that we touched on during those commercials while we think
Speaker 2 00:01:57 Spoke briefly just to give some, uh, hint about what we're going to be doing in Q1 of next year. Okay. So just a few months away, we're going to use, yeah. Starting to talk about our new LMS environment, which is going to bring a lot of capability that we have not been able to do prior. So we're excited about that. We're going to be doing some certification training for all of our e-learning as well as instructor led, um, folks that come through, we're going to be actually certifying various different levels of product knowledge as well as installation services. So there's badges and buttons and lollipops and all those kinds of things that our learners are going to be earning. Yeah. So we're very excited about that. That'll be fun. We're going to be continuing this podcast series with some new, exciting things as well.
Speaker 1 00:02:43 Yes. So I'm excited about the new LMS. Where do they find us? Where do they find PGT university? Well, we do have,
Speaker 2 00:02:52 Okay. Uh, so that's the first, first place that dealers or their employees can go to www.pgtuniversity.com. Okay. And on our website, there's various different links to our podcast series. So folks can listen and learn while they're driving from, to and from work or to, and from job site, that's the podcast. And then there's another button that they can press that says
Speaker 1 00:03:15 Training begins here.
Speaker 2 00:03:17 That's what the button says. Training begins here, and that will link them out into our learning management system environments, over LMS environment. Uh, from there we have, uh, courses that are designed, uh, e-learning courses that allow them to learn about products, features, and benefits of specific products. And then there's also a video based series on how to install or service our products. So how do you get the products? What are they all about? And then what do you do with them once you have that? So we cover all that. And then as well, we also have a third silo. We use that word silo, but a third silo of content that deals with industry knowledge. So it's not product specific, but it's just generic fenestration industry, windows and doors.
Speaker 1 00:03:58 What's new and different about the new system. Well, the
Speaker 2 00:04:01 New system gives us some interesting capabilities from the standpoint of delivery. So it's a much more modern looking system from a user interface standpoint, it's cards rather than, you know, text description and things like that. So it's a much more colorful, it's more interactive that way. It's more engaging, probably a better word. So that's the first thing that learners will notice. So the new environment will also give us the capability of learning paths. Learning paths are groupings of courses in instructor led activity that we can group together based on common thread or common theme. Okay. And the learners as they go through them and complete them will earn badges. So there's a little bit of gamification, so it's, it's kind of fun. Okay.
Speaker 1 00:04:44 Be sure to tune in for upcoming episodes to help you understand the fenestration industry, what you need to know when buying windows and doors and other related topics, you can find out more about
[email protected]. You can also find us on Facebook and LinkedIn,
Speaker 2 00:05:03 But, uh, the learners can earn badges and certifications based on that. And, um, yeah, these are going to be industry certifications that, uh, we will be as an organization backing in the industry. So we're excited about that. It's the first time we've ever been able to do that. And the new environment gives us a capability.
Speaker 1 00:05:21 The current environment, the one that's going away soon is basically find what you're looking for and take classes. And it doesn't necessarily lead to anything well, right? No, of course, of course, but it doesn't, there's not a clear path. So the learning path, one example of a learning path, at least the one, couple that I'm familiar with is the PGT Winguard vinyl. So all of the products that are connected to Winguard vinyl will be in one spot. Correct. And if a learner goes into that, they will find all of the products that are on that family line and then they can take an assessment at the end and then they will become certified in Winguard vinyl.
Speaker 2 00:06:08 Correct? Correct. That's one of the first certifications that they could earn. Okay.
Speaker 1 00:06:12 And then, so then the other wind guard family is the wind guard aluminum. And so there's a learning path, not a training track, a learning path for that. And then also for energy view and then also for classic classic Macs. And then that's cool. So then they take that family of courses. And then,
Speaker 2 00:06:28 Well, at that point in time, they would have earned since you named four different families of products, they would have earned four badges. And that then opens up and higher level of certification. Think of a associate's degree, bachelor's degree, master's degree kind of scenario. So that would open up additional certification opportunities for them that are higher, that are more advanced and, uh, obviously more difficult as you go because there's more content, but, um, within their profession, if they want to or choose to move forward, that is an opportunity for them to do that. And there's higher recognition along the way.
Speaker 1 00:07:00 And what's the tuition,
Speaker 2 00:07:02 The tuition is free.
Speaker 1 00:07:05 That's
Speaker 2 00:07:05 Crazy. We do not charge for our training.
Speaker 1 00:07:07 Yeah. That's really
Speaker 2 00:07:08 Amazing. Our primary goal as a department, as a team training team is to help our dealers be successful to grow their business, be successful. Obviously we want them to use our products along that line. Um, so as they become successful, we become more successful and you know, it's a self perpetuating situation, but, uh, that is our goal. We want to help our dealers be successful. And by giving them the knowledge that they need and giving their employees the knowledge that they need to be successful.
Speaker 1 00:07:37 So on the product side, they can learn all about the various brands. What about on the installation and the services side? Is there, is there learning paths and learning plans and certifications for those folks?
Speaker 2 00:07:49 Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. Cause I said earlier, you know, not only do you want to know about your product, but you also need to know what to do with them in the field. So the installers, the service techs that are out there and in our industry, they need to know how to appropriately install, how to appropriately seal and, uh, you know, water infiltration and all the various different things that we have to worry about, you know, true level plum, uh, whether it be a window or door. So we have learning paths for those individuals as well that they can then certain get certification as well and continue that, that same associate's bachelor's master's level. Awesome.
Speaker 1 00:08:23 That's so cool. Yeah. So everybody is going to want to sign up for that.
Speaker 2 00:08:26 I would think so. I certainly do.
Speaker 1 00:08:28 That's fantastic. What is our target date?
Speaker 2 00:08:30 We're looking at January. I'm not, I'm not going to be held down to a specific date, but we're looking at January. So we've got a couple more months down the road. Okay.
Speaker 1 00:08:38 I'm excited about it. Oh, there's one other feature. We didn't talk about
Speaker 2 00:08:42 The app, the app. Well, everyone seems to have mobile devices now. So everything that we can deliver from a learning management certification process, everything that we can deliver via web environment or browser base, we can also deliver via an app. Okay. So, um, especially when we're talking about services, so our installers or service techs, everyone's carrying around mobile phones, mobile devices. So there'll be able to gain access to that information through that app. Nice.
Speaker 1 00:09:10 Yep. That is go dot learn. It is. And then, so once you download the app, then you have to find us. And that is PGT i-university.com I think
Speaker 2 00:09:23 Because, so you have a better memory than make, but a yes. And if that doesn't seem to work when this podcast is released, we'll have the appropriate one available.
Speaker 1 00:09:31 Nice. Thanks for joining me today. PGT university is the customer education team for an entire family of brands. We began with the original, easy breeze, ports and closure lie then became PGT. America's leading brand of impact resistant windows and doors. We then added CGI, CGI WinDoor, Western windows, new south windows and echo windows and doors. We create products built to withstand major storms, keeping people safe, secure, and prepared. Our exceptional brands give you the protection you need without compromising design or functionality. PGT university is here to educate you our listener so that you can be a more informed consumer of window and door products.
