Vista, Calif. — Directed Electronics, parent company of Polk Audio and Definitive Technology, will open its Home Theater Residential Integration school (HTRI) in the first quarter of 2008.
“Multiroom audio/video integrators tell us that qualified installers are hard to find and the ramp-up time for inexperienced new hires is a long, tedious process. We’re told that in many cases shortage of fully qualified technicians is the single biggest impediment to their sales growth,” said Al Baron, Polk Audio’s CI product line manager. “HTRI is designed to help employers bring new hires up to speed in a more efficient manner as well as attract new people to the MRAV industry.”
The facility will be co-located on Directed Electronics’ Southern California headquarters campus with the company’s Snake Pit Mobile Electronics Professional Installer Training School. According to the company, the HTRI facility will feature “classrooms, a demonstration lab for the installation of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, modular workstations and a state-of-the-art demonstration room.”
HTRI will offer a four-week program initially consisting of three courses designed to train technicians for CEDIA certification testing. The three courses being offered include:
- HT101: Introduction to the Residential Business for Technicians;
- HT102: Automation Design and Introduction to Programming; and
- HT103: Residential Custom Skills Development.
According to a release, students will have hands-on training, working in small groups with real equipment to develop the skills necessary to execute residential projects.
The company estimates that tuition for the program will be $4,000 and will include fees, course materials and breakfast and lunch on class days. It noted in a release that lodging, transportation and dinners are not included.
To learn more about HTRI, visit www.directedhtri.com. CEDIA attendees can also get information about the school by visiting Polk Audio at booth 830 or Definitive Technology in sound room No. 3 during the show, being held at the Colorado Convention Center, Sept. 6-9.
