ALA develops and provides members with education and networking opportunities designed to help them succeed. To promote these efforts, ALA provides online live and recorded training opportunities throughout the year, including certification programs and networking opportunities. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ALA will begin the year with online training and will resume with a hybrid of online and in-person programming as appropriate.

Annual Conference

The ALA Annual Conference is the association’s largest event of the year and serves as the lighting industry’s only meeting focused entirely on education, networking and business success. Annually, an average of 500 ALA members, including CEOs, presidents, owners, managers, manufacturers, representatives and sales professionals from major industry companies, meet during the three-day ALA Conference for a variety of activities. The 2021 Conference is Sept. 26-28 at the Resort at Squaw Creek, Lake Tahoe, Calif. During the event, the association will:

  • Provide valuable peer networking opportunities, including:
    • Non-competitive showroom and manufacturer representative networking groups
    • Networking lunch
    • Young Executives event
    • Women in Lighting event
    • Receptions and open communication opportunities
  • Seminars on cutting-edge topics, such as:
    • Bottom-line business improvement
    • Smart and connected lighting
    • Social media and digital marketing
    • Ultra-violet germicidal lighting
    • Rebuilding in the aftermath of COVID-19
    • Advanced lighting knowledge
    • Technology and engineering
    • Government engagement and regulation
    • Multi-generational workplaces
    • Merchandising
    • Luxury, high-end design

Training and Certification

ALA’s training and certification efforts focus on providing members with relevant, meaningful and cost-effective training and certification opportunities. To support accessible training, the association will host monthly webinars, in-person seminars during June Lightovation, and online certification courses throughout the year. Additionally, the association will promote and continue to update its certification programming.
 
To support these efforts, the association will:

  • Host training courses throughout the year on key topics, such as:
  • LED and energy-efficient technology
  • Technical lighting and lighting controls
  • General sales and business skills
  • Specialized sale of specific lighting, ceiling fan and connected lighting products
  • Increase the number of members attaining lighting certification designations, including CLC, CLMR, LS and LA
  • Investigate developing a connected home academy/certification program
  • Promote ALA certified/accredited lighting professionals in all membership categories as a valuable tool
  • Partner with members to provide training to improve and expand their businesses with new concepts and cutting-edge technical lighting training courses
  • Maintain ALA’s free, on-demand library of webinars
  • Collaborate with Dallas Market Center to offer training at Lightovation and other related shows
  • Expand the ALA Education Charitable Endowment Fund program to benefit the lighting industry
  • Maintain a scholarship fund for showroom members
  • Analyze content in the 10 Lighting Associate (LA) courses and develop a plan for updates and revisions
  • Work to add online access to the Residential Lighting Training Manual with a 2021 target for completion
  • Promote 10-course sales training series
  • Publish a unified training document for ceiling fan information and troubleshooting training
  • Research, determine, and develop outreach to a priority list of universities/design schools to promote ALA educational opportunities and provide students a career path in the lighting industry
  • Review potential of ALA showroom “gold level” training designation

 

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