» Who Conducts the Certification?
The ETCP program’s roots began in 2003 when the ESTA, now PLASA North America, board of directors made plans to create a certification program for entertainment technicians. Later that year they were joined by many other organizations including USITT, IATSE, IAMM and TEA to help govern the program. This group formed the ETCP Certification Council — the certification program’s governing body.
The Council’s vision statement on their website clearly states the goal of their organization: “To develop an ANSI-Accredited Personnel Certification Program to recognize those individuals who have demonstrated knowledge, skills and abilities in specific disciplines within the entertainment technology field. By providing a thorough, independent assessment of knowledge, skills and abilities for entertainment technology disciplines, the Program seeks to enhance safety, reduce workplace risk, improve performance, stimulate training, and give due recognition to the professional skills of entertainment technicians.”
Since its creation, ETCP has created three certifications: Rigger-Arena; Rigger-Theatre; and Entertainment Electrician. There are currently more than 1,600 certified technicians, and 19 people have completed all three certifications. Those applying for certification must meet a set of criteria and then take a rigorous exam on the subject.
» Should I Get Certified?
To answer that question, you need to look at who the rigging certification is intended for. According to the ETCP website, “the intent of the rigging examinations is to evaluate and validate the knowledge and skill base of the upper third of riggers working in the entertainment industry.” Getting certified is a clear sign to your current and future employers that your skills fall within the upper third of the entertainment industry.
The certification is also intended to demonstrate capability in positions that typically hold a lot of responsibility. TDs who are in charge of the rigging for a venue or supervise the rigging are dealing with health and safety, and often they are in charge of OSHA compliance. In a recent contract agreement to be phased in between IATSE, Live Nation and Global Spectrum, “the new agreements call for IATSE to provide the venues with an ETCP Certified Rigger at any rigging call.”
More and more companies and organizations are acknowledging that ETCP certification is a good benchmark to judge if people are capable of meeting all of the health and safety requirements required in rigging situations and making sure the rigging is in compliance with OSHA and other laws. As more venues and organizations require certification, it will become more important for a TD to become certified.
For freelance TDs, certification could open new opportunities, or could become required. Shannon Johnson of Peerbolte Creative, a theatrical consultation and design firm, notes that their company puts ETCP Certification as a specification on any rigging project they consult on.
One final thing to consider in deciding if you should apply for certification is the cost. It costs as much as $600 to take the exam—and you’ll have to pay for both exams individually if you want to get a Theatre and Arena certification. There is also a cost after certification for continuing education and recertification. The question often will come down to “Is my income enough to justify the ongoing cost of certification?” (One of the perks of
IATSE membership is a program to help members defray some or all of the certification costs. See sidebar on page 51 for more details. —ed.)
» Applying
Before you can take the exam, there are a set of minimum qualifications: You must be 21 years of age to become a certified rigger and have earned 30 points to qualify for the written exam. Points can be earned several different ways, primarily through entertainment rigging work experience. A complete list of requirements can be found at plsn.me/ETCPrec.
Applicants for certification need to go to the ETCP website to download all the application materials. There is an application fee of $600 for nonmembers or $500 for someone who is a part of a member organization like IATSE or USITT. If you wish take a second rigging exam and be certified in both Arena and Theatre, you can do so at reduced cost within one year of your first examination. If you fail the test and want to take it again, it will cost between $200 and $150, depending upon your membership status. Once you’ve completed the application, you’ll need to send it and your examination fees to ETCP in advance of the test so they can verify your credentials. This ain’t the DMV. You can’t just walk in and take the test.
» Prepping
Where do you begin studying for tests like this? Fortunately, the ETCP program wants to help. The organization offers many resources on its website to help you prepare for the exam. It offers many basic test-taking tips, because it recognizes many who will be taking the exam may not have taken an exam recently. They also have a Facebook group for those studying for the exam (plsn.me/ETCPfb), created to help applicants form study groups. They also developed a poster with all the subjects covered on the exam. For $35 they offer a sample 50-question test through their testing provider, Applied Measurement Professionals. The ESTA Foundation also provides a resource page with rigging seminars and a bibliography at plsn.me/ESTAresource.
» Testing
There are two ways take the exam: using pencil and paper, or on a computer at a designated testing facility. The computer test can be taken through Applied Measurement Professionals. The written exam is offered by many different organizations throughout the year, including popular trade shows like USITT and LDI. Some IATSE locals also offer the pencil and paper test. Once you get to the testing facility, you’re only allowed to bring a non-programmable calculator to the test. You will be provided with pencil, scratch paper and a scale ruler. You are not expected to memorize all the rigging formulas needed for the test and will be provided with the more complex formulas in this table at plsn.me/ETCPformulas at the site before the test. The test consists of 150 questions that need to be completed within a three-hour testing period. Each test is different; the computer chooses from a large pool of questions created by a panel of experts. The number of questions you need to answer correctly to pass is determined by the questions you get on the exam. Each question has been rated by its difficulty by the team of experts who created the test, and this rating is used to determine the final score. Detailed content of each test can be found at etcp.plasa.org. Shortly after the test, you will be given a raw score and a report that indicates a pass or fail.
» Finishing
If you do not pass the test, you can take it again. If you take it within a year, you’ll get a significant discount.
If you did pass, you will get a certificate, wallet card and pin, all identifying you as being an ETCP-certified rigger. Once you get certification, you will be expected to uphold the code of ethics found at plsn.me/ESTAcode.
Certification lasts for five years, after which you will need to get recertified in order to ensure that you have stayed up to date on all the current standards in a changing field. To renew your certification, you need a total of 40 points. You can earn points via job experience, taking or teaching classes in rigging, being involved in writing rigging standards and even by taking the exam. But the maximum points they’ll accept in any one category is 30—so to qualify for renewal you’ll need points in multiple categories.
Certification might not be for everyone, and it requires a good amount of knowledge and experience to obtain and maintain. But everyone stands to benefit from it. For more information on the program go to http://etcp.plasa.org.
Todd Proffitt, a regular contributor to PLSN affiliate Stage Directions, is a professor at SUNY Fredonia in Fredonia, NY. This article appeared in SD’s “TD Talk” column earlier this year.
