The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) has planned a number of improvements to its Gold Seal Certification Program for construction management professionals. In addition to changes to program requirements in terms of education, training, and application fees, in the upcoming months, CCA will be launching an online application system and a learning management system facilitating preparation for the examination, as well as making significant improvements to how potential applicants can find information about the certification program.

Gold Seal is a national certification program for construction management professionals including project managers, owner’s project managers, superintendents, estimators, and safety coordinators. CCA administers the program in partnership with its member construction associations.

CCA’s Gold Seal Committee is committed to ensuring that Gold Seal Certification is the Canadian designation of choice for construction management professionals. Last year the committee completed a strategic plan to chart taking the program to another level. 

“Our goal is to increase the overall visibility and awareness of Gold Seal certification nationally in partnership with our local member construction associations, attract new applicants, and better engage our existing certification holders,” says Barry Brown, chair of the CCA Gold Seal Committee and president of Maple Leaf Construction. 

On the new website, Brown says, “We want to make finding information on the Gold Seal Certification Program as easy as possible.” To that effect, the committee has engaged in a complete branding and messaging overhaul as well as revamping the Gold Seal Certification Program website and collateral.  

“An online application system will reduce the administrative burden and reduce our turnaround time,” says Stephanie Wallace who manages the Gold Seal program. “Applicants will appreciate our ability to process their applications faster and the additional benefit of increased transparency and visibility that will allow applicants to review and track their application status.”

Online Study and Preparatory System

For Gold Seal certification program candidates who are required to write an exam to become certified, an online study and preparatory system will be a welcome addition. “When preparing to write the exam, sometimes the problem is that people ‘wear many hats’ at work so they don’t know what to expect,” explains Wallace. The new online study and preparatory system will replace material that is currently sent by mail, further cutting turnaround time and reducing administrative delays. The study system will allow candidates to choose the date and location of their exam, review material, take quizzes, and try a sample test. 

For more information, visit www.goldsealcertification.com.