Get CATS Certified
Become a certified contractor through the CATS Certification Scheme. It’s as simple as taking the first step.
The CATS Certification is broken up into 5 straightforward components that lets any company, climber, or crew member get started just by getting started.
1. Qualification
We know you can take trees down and trim them because you do it every day. CATS Qualification is your way to prove that to your customer. We assess the kinds of tree care that you claim that you can do and then we let you prove it to us. We assess technique, safety consciousness and depth of knowledge.
Everyone of your staff members will be assessed of their current skill levels. Each staff member will begin in our instruction program once we have all current skills documented.
This is not a judgment about how good a treeman or company that you are but is the baseline for an initial training curriculum that fits your needs. Why should you start at the beginner level in your education if you have 10 years of experience?
2. Compliance
CATS is a robust certification that monitors how you are progressing in completing your education, maintaining your state and local government licensing, keeping your workers comp and general liability insurance in force and if you are committed to a drug free workplace.
Insurance
Not everyone has the insurance they need, and whether or not it’s required by law in your area, most customers only want to work with a company that has the proper levels of General Liability & Workers Comp. If you don’t have it, we’ll help you get it in place.
Drug Free
Drugs are a huge problem many service industries, and the tree business is no exception. Setting up and enforcing a drug policy for your company is no easy task. We’re here to help set up one that works for the real world. If your company is not yet a drug free work place, our education program and policies will help you get there.
3. Continuing Education
Getting everyone on your crew ISA Certified isn’t going to happen overnight. Besides, too many changes too fast pushed into the workplace can actually produce a negative impact on safety. CATS education program is in small ‘bite’ sized portions so they can be rolled out one at a time if desired.
Your staff members can proceed with online education and testing at their own pace. CATS provides the testing, oversight, and reporting to your management for review.
The percentage of completion of each portion of the curriculum is visible to everyone. If someone isn’t making progress, then it will be available to anyone who wants to know. This sort of openness is for everyone’s benefit. We want the industry to change for the better!
Not all the knowledge the ISA Certification requires you to know in order to pass the tests that they give you is going be needed on every job or by every person. Under the CATS Certification Program, we make sure that basic safety practices and procedures are the first thing that we measure and monitor to see that they become implemented. After that how you implement the CATS education into your workplace will be entirely up to you.
4. Monitoring
Monitoring is the very heart of the CATS Certification program and what makes it unique in our industry. Monitoring is optional and CATS does not force any individual to be monitored. However, CATS will not market and promote anyone that we can’t be certain has a good record.
The benefit of monitoring though is that it proves that you are the real deal, and customers will find your openness a basis for working with you because it will be obvious that you have nothing to hide and that you want your good name to be seen.
Shortly after you have enrolled in our program, CATS will survey a portion of your old customers with a simple survey that provides an excellent report of your professionalism, ability and reputation. We will then on a continuous basis survey all your new customers as well.
What does our customer survey and follow-up prove? The CATS Monitoring Survey shows that you did the job safely, and without injuries. And if issues arise on a job, it shows your ability to provide excellent customer service and make things right with a customer. CATS tree services are signified, not only by their safety, but also their measure of skill, ethics, and treatment of customer property.
Our survey addresses these key points:
Was the job done without damage to your property?
With this information in your records your customers will know that when you say you are Certified, it doesn’t refer to a piece of paper you got 10 years ago, your CATS Certification will show what you are NOW!
5. ISA Certification
The CATS Certification is here to unite and upbuild the tree care industry. Your CATS Certification has benefits that no other certification body offers but its not a substitute for the ISA Certification simply because ISA Certification is required throughout a broad range of institutions.
CATS Certification will always be important because it is an ongoing program that reflects the state of your current operation not only about who you were or what you did in the past. We back up your claim that everyone on your team is a Certified Arborist or is in training to be one and your portfolio of work will speak for itself.
After getting the necessary education, it will be up to you or your employees to decide when you’re ready to take the ISA Certification test. If your employee remains in the CATS program for 3 years, we will reimburse them for their testing fees, that’s our thanks for joining us in our mission.
We wanted to say this first but we had to wait till last:
To understand CATS is to recognize that its your qualifications that make you a treeman not a certificate. We are going to help you put those forward to your customers and to help you reach out to get even better. You won’t have to mumble when your customer asks you about your qualifications. You can call your self a CERTIFIED ARBORIST TREE SERVICE and that everyone of your staff is in continuing education.
That is why from the very beginning your CATS Certification can begin to make you more money. It will also be a fact because education and safety consciousness will create a new morale in your company as each man and women begins to have real pride in knowing that theirs is a true career equal to any other in prestige.
Treemen are heroes. It’s time we make that plain to the world.
Let’s get started.
Fill out this form and one of our directors will contact you with more information today.
Can’t wait to talk to us? Give us a call at 678-971-2441