CEDIA announced the establishment of the CEDIASTRONG Scholarship Fund Tuesday. CEDIA will begin accepting donations with the intent to award education grants in 2021 to up-and-coming home technology talent: high school graduates, community college and vocational school students, as well as displaced techs who are keen to build their skills and careers in the smart and connected home space. With more consumers working from home, demand for home technology is escalating. Integration companies across the globe are going to need technical professionals at all levels to meet this rising demand.

“One of CEDIA’s key strategic objectives has been to develop the workforce for our industry to assist members seeking to add qualified talent in support of business growth. We have actively developed programs to support this initiative and the CEDIASTRONG Scholarship Fund falls in line with our goals by eliminating financial barriers for new talent to take the plunge to begin to build their careers in the custom installation space,“ said Rob Sutherland, CEDIA chairman of the board.

CEDIASTRONG Scholarship grants will cover CEDIA Academy and Bootcamp tuition fees as well as supplemental expenses for certification testing and travel. CEDIA will begin awarding scholarships in 2021.

Here’s a video explaining the program:

Emerald has partnered with CEDIA to help promote the establishment of CEDIASTRONG Scholarship Fund. The CEPro All Star Band will perform a virtual benefit concert as part of CEDIA Expo to help encourage donations to the fund. Additionally, Emerald Expositions has committed to matching donations that are made during CEDIA Expo.

“Emerald Expositions is honored to support the industry in the establishment of the CEDIASTRONG Scholarship Fund,” said Brian Pagel, executive vice president at Emerald Expositions. “We want to encourage everyone to consider making a contribution during the event. The long-term growth and prosperity of our industry will rely heavily on attracting top talent and providing them with world-class professional education opportunities.”

Tabatha O’Connor, CEDIA CEO adds, “Our investment in CEDIA Education has been prolific — the CEDIA Academy represents a huge step forward in our online curriculum and every course and module has been developed with an eye towards expanding opportunities for professional advancement and building career pathways. CEDIA Academy offers both technical and business focused courses for integrators at a variety of career levels.”

CEDIA Academy has been built in tandem with improvements to the CEDIA certification program, and with industry standards in mind. By combining these important areas, CEDIA is able to ensure that learners are equipped with effective exam preparation and ultimately professional accreditation.

The CEDIA Strong Scholarship Fund is an important capstone to the overall CEDIASTRONG campaign that the association implemented on a global scale earlier this year in response to the COVID pandemic. Throughout the last several months, CEDIASTRONG has been a rallying cry for the industry, bolstered by virtual events, roundtable discussions and webinars to empower dealers with new tools to help them build skills and their businesses. To date, thousands of members have participated in CEDIASTRONG events and accessed CEDIASTRONG resources.