Installers: Training & Certification: Response to installer shortage not only targets recruitment and training, but also plants seeds to advance the trade – March 2025

By Darius Helm

It has been a decade or so since the alarm bells started going off about the falling numbers of experienced, qualified flooring installers, and in those intervening years, the plight has deepened. However, it looks like the industry has in many ways started to find its footing. Several prominent organizations have immersed themselves in the challenge, finding novel ways to recruit, offering a wide range of training opportunities, developing certifications, finding vehicles for funding and helping students of the craft defray associated costs.

The landscape for recruiting, training and certifying installers can be hard to navigate. Training standards vary between different groups, costs range from free to thousands of dollars, and classes can take place anywhere from training centers to retailer and distributor spaces to online. In addition, tradespeople often have to choose between what they need and what they can afford. It takes time and money to learn all the varied skills involved in flooring installation. And that can be a tall order for an installer.

BACKGROUND AND CHALLENGES
While flooring installers can make a good living working in the flooring market, as far as the trades go, installers aren’t compensated like most others, including electricians, plumbers and carpenters. And that has been one of the biggest barriers to maintaining a robust installer network. People interested in trades will tend to go where the money is.

The “Quick Facts” summary for flooring installers and tile and stone setters published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that in 2023 the average income was $23.41 per hour, or $48,690 per year. It estimates the number of jobs at 115,400. And it also notes that there is no formal educational credential.

Ceramic and stone installers are the highest paid, followed by hardwood, and at the bottom are carpet installers. And at the higher end of the carpet market, a good chunk of broadloom volume is bypassing installers entirely as it is fabricated into area rugs. On the resilient side, the market saturation of rigid LVT with glueless locking systems has been a boon to some installers, since they’re mostly paid per square foot, so the faster they click the floors together, the more money they make. However, it has also opened the door for inexperienced installers to compete in the market against qualified, certified professionals.

Also, it’s not just the money. Unlike most other tradespeople, flooring installers are mostly employed as independent contractors. “As an industry, we need to re-examine our approach to the 1099 contractor services,” says Kaye Whitener, executive director of the Floor Covering Education Foundation (FCEF). “I encourage more retailers and companies to adopt a larger proportion of employee-based installation teams to better control quality and protect their businesses. The younger generation doesn’t seem to be as interested in owning their own business as an installer versus working for companies that offer health insurance, 401K benefits and vacation days. We’re rapidly approaching a critical supply and demand imbalance for all flooring installers in this industry.”

The number of installers abruptly declined during the Great Recession. When the housing market collapsed around 2007, the residential flooring market ground to a halt, and within a year, the commercial market also started to fall. It took about five or six years for the markets to begin to recover, and during that time, a lot of professional installers saw their revenues dry up. Many of the older, more seasoned installers went out to pasture. Others, if they were lucky, found different lines of work. So, when the U.S. flooring market finally began to rebound, the growing market came across a significant bottleneck: not enough installers.

Over the last decade, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and other stakeholders have felt the impact. And, recognizing the urgency of the situation, many have helped fund the organizations that are seeking to build back up the installer community.

CURRENT CONDITIONS
Many industry experts expect the residential flooring market to improve in the second half of the year, driven by anticipated economic improvements and boosted by pent-up demand, but this will bring with it more pressure on the installer network. Industry veteran Robert Varden, owner of Advanced Flooring Technology (AFT) and IFCTA/Unite, contends that over the last couple of years, retailers have focused on their flagging sales and forgotten about the installer problem-slower business means less pressure on the installer network. But if the markets do indeed start to rebound, the lack of installers will quickly gum up the works and slow the pace of retailer flooring sales. So, there’s good reason to focus right now on recruiting and training installers.

David Garden, executive director of education for the International Certified Flooring Installers Association (CFI), points out that during the pandemic, there was so much work, and so much pressure on the installers, that retailers were turning customers away. And if business starts to rebound this year or next, rates will again start to skyrocket and installation quality will drop, hurting businesses and the flooring industry itself. “I hope the industry opens its eyes and sees that it needs those installers,” he stresses.

“It’s an interesting dilemma,” says Sonny Callaham, chairman of the National Association of Floor Covering Technicians (NAFCT). “When companies have the funds to educate their installers, they’re too busy. And when they have the time, they don’t have the money.”

However, it looks like some retailers are planning ahead. Varden reports that just in the last month, he has received more requests from retailers on training than he did in the whole last quarter.

There is one more wrinkle to the installer picture that is particularly relevant in the current times: migrant labor. In this contractor-driven market, immigrants are well represented-according to sources, making up a significant double-digit percentage of the installer workforce. Many come from Latin America, sometimes with experience in tile and stone but often with no skills specific to flooring installation. If immigrants become targeted to the degree that the Trump administration has signaled, it could further reduce the installer population.

TRAINING & CERTIFICATION
When Varden founded AFT in 1988, his business was 99% installation, and now it’s 99% installation training and education. The firm has training facilities, but mostly it partners with dealers and other entities to host training sessions. And AFT provides installer training to CCA Global Carpet One and Flooring America dealers at their locations.

AFT’s focus is on training and certification for resilient flooring and carpet, both residential and commercial, as well as some advanced courses-it holds multiple classes every month. According to Varden, the best wood training comes from the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA), and for tile it’s the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF). In fact, AFT will be hosting NWFA Intermediate Installation & Certification Testing at its school in Ft. Worth, Texas in June.

CFI, one of the leading installer training organizations, was founded in 1993 with some funding from the World Floor Covering Association (WFCA), which took it over in 2015.

CFI trains and certifies installers. Costs per class start at $695 for two-day courses, covering four categories: carpet, hardwood, ceramic and resilient/laminate flooring. All the categories include floor prep training. Longer, more intensive, more specialized classes cost more. According to Garden, most of those attending classes are getting sponsored or will end up getting hired while in the training period.

Garden adds that the most popular category is carpet, with LVT close behind-which, between them, account for over 60% of the market. However, except at the woven level, carpet pays less than the other categories. And the categories where installers are needed most are ceramic and vinyl sheet.

NAFCT was originally launched 11 years ago as a for-profit school, but four years ago shifted to a non-profit model in order to operate as a trade association, offering training and certification. Founding members include Ardex, Mapei, Schönox, Roppe, Novalis, Wagner Meters, Laticrete and many more.

According to Callaham, the switch to non-profit shifted the organization’s focus from training dealers and inspectors to focusing on specific industry issues. For instance, its first course was on subfloor prep.

“We do things a bit different,” Callaham says in terms of how NAFCT offers classes. It has education partners, including many of its founding members, for whom it will “train the trainer” to teach specific courses according to curricula developed by NAFCT.

Callaham reports that NAFCT has recently partnered with Professional Floorcovering Training (PFT) as an approved school for its resilient subfloor training. PFT, formed in 2020 by Mark Farnsworth, offers training programs funded through state governments, like Ohio’s TechCred, and works with schools like Michigan’s Glen Oaks Community College or Ohio’s Tri-County Career Center, to help students enter the flooring business with basic installation training. PFT sort of functions as a middleman, gathering students, seeking funding, then going to operations like NAFCT and AFT for the training.

Farnsworth reports that, to date, he has been able to secure government funding in Ohio, Michigan and Florida, and is looking for partners for outreach to help achieve his goal of bringing on seven states by the end of this year.

CERTIFYING CERAMIC
CFI recently partnered with CTEF for a new entry-level training and certification process. “The partnership with CFI expands access to quality tile education by integrating CTEF’s expertise in tile installation with CFI’s broader flooring training network,” says Brad Denny, executive director of CTEF.

It was a partnership two years in the making, says Garden, noting that the two groups were in many ways doing the exact same thing. In the new partnership, CFI will focus on training and pass the certification to CTEF, following six months of on-the-job training.

The training program consists of five one-week sessions, the first of which will be held in Louisville, Kentucky this spring. According to Denny, “This program represents a formal starting point for individuals seeking a career in the ceramic industry and a huge first step for those who will eventually seek the Ceramic Tile Installer (CTI) certification.”

CTEF, established in 1996 as a 501(c)(3), launched its CTI program in 2008. The group is funded by industry sponsorships, certification fees, training programs and donations. While independent, it collaborates with the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) and the Tile Council of North America (TCNA). According to Denny, to date nearly 2,000 installers have CTI certification, with many of them pursuing advanced certifications.

Formed in 1947, and officially renamed in 1998, NTCA is the trade association for tile and stone contracting and installation companies. Its training and education programs are free to the public-NTCA is paid a fee to put them on through funding from sponsors and associate partners. Programs include three-hour education events, full-day training across a range of topics and two-day programs for more indepth education, including subfloor prep, specialized cutting and more. This year, NTCA will hold about 100 regional events and 400 workshops, with certification through CTEF.

According to Bart Bettiga, NTCA executive director, “We went from, in 1985, doing this with a few volumeter members and one employee, to two large regional trucks and five vans that travel all around the country. We have five full-time trainers and four independent contractors working for us.” Bettiga adds that it takes about four years to become a quality tile and stone installer.

NTCA currently has about 1,650 members. Any company or individual engaged in tile or stone installation, including all flooring retailers that sell tile installation, can be a member.

HARDWOOD TRAINING
A founding principle behind the formation of the NWFA in 1985 was education. By 1989, the group was holding regional training seminars, and in 1993 it held its first national technical training school, with 79 students attending. Since then, the program has ballooned, expanding in both scope and scale, building its own training center, doing regional events and offering online components through NWFA University.

According to Brett Miller, NWFA’s vice president of technical standards, training and certification, about 200 students go through the program every year. Last year, the association held over 90 events across North America. The hardwood installer certification test costs $400, and students are required to have three years of hands-on experience and must have attended at least intermediate level training, which costs $749. Costs are the same for the sand and finish training and certification. NWFA also offers training and certification for inspectors.

Miller notes that many students are sent by business owners, who cover their costs. Others already have some expertise and seek certification to bolster their credentials and make them more competitive in their markets.

UNION PROGRAMS
Everyone in the flooring installation business agrees that union training and certification is in a league of its own. For instance, INSTALL, the International Standards & Training Alliance, is part of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, which spends about $250 million annually on training, with a presence in every major metro market. It has nearly 100 flooring instructors. At its flagship International Training Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, it has 1.5 million square feet of training space and three hotels.

A typical apprenticeship is four years, with four weeks per year of training. As a dues-paying member-dues are fairly minimal, about $25 a month-all the training is free. According to David Gross, executive director of INSTALL, there are currently over 10,000 INSTALL-trained flooring installers. Union workers get paid at higher rates, and unions offer other benefits, like pensions.

The downside is that only a small portion of total flooring installation-perhaps 10%-is union work. It mostly takes place on the commercial side of the business, where its share is estimated at close to a third. Unions have a strong presence in some regions, like the Northeast, West Coast and parts of the West, but are notably weak in the South.

Another union involved in flooring training and certification is IUPAT, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, which has its strongest position in the western states. IUPAT does training through apprenticeship schools with a five-year program of school and work-going to school once every three months for a week at a time, training in different subjects until reaching journeyman level, at which pointed they’re tested and certified. IUPAT trains on all flooring types except for sand and finish hardwood, which is provided by the carpenters’ union, and ceramic tile, which is covered by the masons’ union. Benefits include annuity, pension and premium medical coverage.

RECRUITMENT AND JOB PLACEMENT
Varden notes that unions have a big advantage when it comes to recruiting, with their benefits and progress up the ranks. Young people entering the workforce are looking for health insurance, for instance, which is hard to come by as a non-union independent contractor.

Varden not only runs AFT for training and certification, but five years ago, he also formed the International Floor Covering Training Alliance, a non-profit also known as Unite. Unite is all about pushing awareness of all of the associations and entities involved in installer training and certification, as well as increasing manufacturer involvement.

As four-year colleges have fallen somewhat out of favor in recent years-in part because of the high price tag, but also because of a cultural shift-there’s been more focus on professions involving manual labor. But Varden points out that as schools have added trades, one often left off the list is flooring installation.

One group very much focused on changing that is FCEF, which was established in 2020 in response to a 2018 report commissioned by the Floor Covering Leadership Council that revealed an expected loss of 4,000 to 6,000 installers a year over the next decade, with the average installer aged 56. That spurred leading manufactures like Shaw, Mohawk and Engineered Floors to pledge seed funding for the 501(c)(3) establishment of FCEF. The organization’s focus was on awareness campaigns, recruitment initiatives, training scholarships and job placement assistance. To date, the foundation has also secured two federal grants to help implement programs in three states.

In early January, Jim Aaron, who had been executive director since FCEF’s founding, stepped down from the role due to financial constraints and Whitener was promoted from director of operations to take over his position.

Whitener notes that FCEF partners with colleges to engage students through social media, community-based organizations and local high school construction programs. It is also collaborating with veteran communities and immigrant organizations.

“FCEF scholarships generally cover 100% of the tuition required for college programs,” says Whitener. “Once a student applies for a scholarship through FCEF, we provide continuous support throughout their journey into the flooring industry. When a new college program launches in a specific city and state, we actively connect local flooring communities with the program, fostering engagement and participation in the training and employment.”

She adds that FCEF programs serve as an initial introduction into the trade. “Once someone decides to enter the field, we depend on retailers to step forward and hire these students, providing them with at least two years of on-the-job training and support,” she says.

Last month, FCEF announced that it is now an approved SkillBridge Training Provider, enabling the group to actively recruit service members with its Basic Floor Covering Installation program as they seek to transition into civilian careers.

FCEF’s five-year goal is to make its foundational floorcovering installation program available in every state to help ensure a robust future for the flooring industry, notes Whitener. She adds, “This is only possible if everyone steps up to support FCEF as we work diligently to support our industry and your business.”

Copyright 2025 Floor Focus 

Related Topics:The International Surface Event (TISE), National Academy of Floor Covering Training, Shaw Industries Group, Inc., Daltile, Roppe, Lumber Liquidators, RD Weis, NWFA Expo, Novalis Innovative Flooring, Schluter®-Systems, Mohawk Industries, Floor Covering Leadership Council , Laticrete, Engineered Floors, LLC, Carpet One