Certification

Careers

Aquatics is an interesting and complicated field of work. There are several very different careers in aquatics. Even in the design/build sector of the industry there are many career paths that require specific training. This doesn’t even consider the many occupations within the manufacturers, distributors, service and retail sectors.

Consider a single-person design/build firm – He or she must market, advertise, sell, design, bid, build, manage subcontractors, coordinate with others to transition the watershapes over to the owners and service professionals, and, importantly, operate a profitable business. Larger design/build firms do these things as well but will often have dedicated personnel for in-house building trades, tasks like scheduling, customer service, accounting, etc.

Watershape University offers programs and certifications in all aspects of the design/build sector of the aquatics industry. Here we describe various design/build jobs and the credentials that align with them.

Certifications

Certifications document a student’s progress through Watershape University (WU) and the International Watershape Institute (IWI). Credentials can be obtained at multiple steps as the student progresses from a beginning student (“freshman”) to more advanced levels of training and expertise (“senior” and “post-graduate” levels). Credentials are acknowledged via wall certificates and the industry’s first digital badging system.

Licensure

Watershape University’s Certified Watershape Foreman (CWF) certification is recognized by the following jurisdictions for continuing education and licensing purposes:

Benefits of Digital Badging

Acknowledgement on the WU website, searchable by potential clients in your area
Digital badge for your own website
Downloadable certificate for your wall or presentation to potential clients
Real-time online verification

Online Verification of Credentials

Verification of credentials is important for potential clients. We have a simple digital badging system that allows all credential icons to be clicked and verified against our live University Management System (UMS). Credential icons include the URL verify.watershape.org – Each badge is linked back to the UMS database to verify whether it was earned by the person claiming it as well as validation of criteria met, expiration dates as they relate to continuing education requirements, fees paid, etc.

If the link does not match the database then verification cannot occur. If the database indicates that the credential has expired then verification cannot occur. It is a system that automatically keeps everyone honest about their achievements with WU.

Fees

$100 per year per WU credential up to $600 maximum
All employees of a Verified Watershape Company (VWC) are covered by the maximum fee of $600 per year
$900 per year for IWI credentials in addition to VWC credential fee of $600 maximum