The Six Most Asked Questions about C3’s Craft Training Pre-Program Level

By Angela Robbins
Associate Director

​We wanted to give you the real answers about C3’s classification of Pre-Program for Craft Training Endorsement.  Here are the top six questions we hear most often from our pre-program companies.
1.  What does it mean if we are Pre-Program?
Pre-Program is simply a categorization that shows your company’s level of progress toward designing, developing and implementing its craft training programs. C3 Craft Training Endorsement has three levels for companies that already have developed and implemented craft training programs : Recognized, Leader and Champion.  If a company does not have a documented or implemented craft training program they are categorized as Pre-Program.
2.  What is my company required to do if we are in the Pre-Program category?
Being Pre-Program allows a company 12 months to design, develop and implement a craft training program.  Generally, this includes formalizing and documenting on-the-job training or other craft training that is taking place already.  When the 12 months is over the company should be prepared to elevate to Recognized Level Endorsement or even higher.
3.  What is my company required to provide C3 during my 12 months of development time?
C3 has four (4) milestones for the Pre-Program company to meet in order to remain in compliance throughout the development period.

• Month 1 Milestone – submit to C3 a signed letter of executive commitment to create a program at the Recognized level or higher.
• Month 3 Milestone – meet with a member of the C3 People Development team for one-to-one consulting or attend a pre-program cohort/peer group to learn about the process and begin the design of your program.
• Month 6 Milestone – demonstrate progress on your training program by working directly with C3 to develop a program or submitting documents to C3 illustrating progress. Examples of documentation to be submitted might include a list of training gaps that have been identified for employees of the company and/or a list of identified competencies for each position in the company.
• Month 9 Milestone – demonstrate progress on your training program by working directly with C3 to develop a program or submitting to C3 documents illustrating progress. Examples of documentation to be submitted might include a completed competency map by position or training programs identified to address the training gaps listed in the previous milestone.
• Month 12 Evaluation – evaluation using the standard endorsement evaluation tool of all program items developed and implemented during the previous 12-month period.

4. Is there help available? That is a lot to do.
Absolutely, we are available to help you throughout the entire process.  Our People Development department has the templates and knowledge to help any company move out of Pre-Program to endorsed in craft training. We are available as often as you need us… just schedule a meeting with us at peopledev@c3.org.
5. Great! What’s all that consulting cost our company?
That’s the best part! C3 believes in you, your company, and your craft workers. Therefore, the support that we provide is included in your C3 Accredited Employer annual fee.   You need only to activate the service by contacting us at peopledev@C3.org.  And you can keep using our services even after you earn an endorsement to grow and enhance your training programs.  We are available to any C3 Accredited Employer who needs us. Our goal is to assist your company in any way possible as we all work together to create a safer, more skilled and sustainable craft workforce.
6. What happens if our company misses milestones or doesn’t complete the pre-program requirement?
It is our sincerest hope that you never miss a milestone. However, should you find yourself in this predicament, we urge you to contact us immediately and share your plan to remedy the issue. Should you fall behind, and we don’t hear from you at a milestone checkpoint, we have a non-compliance process that will allow you 45 days to regain compliance, while also working to meet the next milestone.  The 45 days will begin as of the date that you receive an email communication from the C3 People Development Team indicating that you have been placed on non-compliance status. If you don’t get back on track within the 45 days, you will be placed on Conditional Status and current project managers will be notified that you have been disabled in our C3 Craft Training Database and are out of compliance with our program. Conditional Status prohibits your company from participating on C3 Projects.
While the program may seem daunting or even a bit overwhelming at first, we are here to assist you to make the process easier and more productive for your employees. And, our People Development Team has proven its value to many companies that we have already helped. Ready to create and implement a quality craft training program for your team? Reach out today and let’s get started.