Some reasons to acquire and maintain your occupational license
- The license stays with you regardless of how your employment changes in the future. You may go to another company or to another area of your trade. For instance, in Georgia, a journeyman license gained while working in new commercial construction is the same journeyman's license needed to operate a service vehicle for a company. The journeyman plumbing license earned in facilities maintenance is the same one needed to work in residential remodeling. Going further, in Georgia, the master's license also stays with you as long as you renew it and keep up with Continuing Education.
- Your license states your qualifications up front. The relevant board has certified your knowledge, experience, and character. Yes, a personal reference or contact is always good, but the license provides a strong reference by itself.
- Achieving a license shows your willingness to invest in yourself to those employers who you may want to invest in you further. Each person has to qualify and pass the exam as an individual, with no assistance from anyone else. The license shows your effort, determination, and achievement. It shows you are worth further opportunities, challenges, and responsibilities.
- Talk to those who have passed through the full license process and achieved their certification. Many of us will tell you that achieving journeyman status was the beginning of learning how little we actually knew about the challenges and responsibilities of the trade. The reality, especially of the master's license, is that the real skill is in seeking and finding solutions to the constantly emerging new problems and situations for which there are not ready-made answers. In that light, one then directs and supervises trainees to assist in the work.
- Supporting employees who are gaining their licenses supports the trade and business standards that help your company function in a gainful manner. Many companies face a hostile attitude from potential customers due to the shoddy and short-sighted practices of employees who do not uphold the standards of the trade regarding safety, quality, and durability for the customer. One of the standards to encourage good business is to have employees whose licenses state that they know the difference themselves. Then the customer who wants safety, quality, and durability at a fair price can be confident that he or she is receiving a good value.
- Assisting employees who are gaining their licenses provides these employees with the type of opportunities and assistance you needed in becoming successful. We all learned the business and the trade from someone. Our trades have acute shortages of trained, certified people. This is one small part of a solution.
- Some will say, "Oh, I'll help them, and they'll just want a raise." OK, the now-licensed tradesperson wants a raise. Are they worth more to your company? I think it depends on point 1 above. If you value having employees who are certified as qualified to send out to your customers, then you should give them appropriate compensation, very good compensation, for what they do and are able to do for you. Give them more training; they can handle it, and contribute even more.
